Primordial Buddha Vajradhara with narrative scenes
See it in the Museum
Emporium
Orientation 3
Wall object 7
ABP 048
Code: ABP 048
Country: Tibet (west)
Style:
Date: 1450 - 1550
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 76.5 x 96
Materials: Glue distemper on cotton
The primordial Buddha Vajradhara
This painting with its dense iconographic scope shows the primordial Buddha Vajradhara at the centre. He is recognisable by his characteristic gesture, he is holding the vajra and the bell with crossed hands in front of his chest. In the sky above him the founding masters of the Kagyu school and the Drikung lineage of Tibetan Buddhism are depicted. He is surrounded by various scenes from divine and human life, depicting fantastic creatures, bodhisattvas, offering goddesses and royal personalities. Devoid of any inscription, it is difficult to identify these scenes. Stylistically, ornamentally and technically, this painting is reminiscent of the murals of the temples of Tholing and Tsaparang, the capital of the Guge kingdom in western Tibet (c. 1400-1630).
This painting with its dense iconographic scope shows the primordial Buddha Vajradhara at the centre. He is recognisable by his characteristic gesture, he is holding the vajra and the bell with crossed hands in front of his chest. In the sky above him the founding masters of the Kagyu school and the Drikung lineage of Tibetan Buddhism are depicted. He is surrounded by various scenes from divine and human life, depicting fantastic creatures, bodhisattvas, offering goddesses and royal personalities. Devoid of any inscription, it is difficult to identify these scenes. Stylistically, ornamentally and technically, this painting is reminiscent of the murals of the temples of Tholing and Tsaparang, the capital of the Guge kingdom in western Tibet (c. 1400-1630).