Sita Tara – The White Tara
  See it in the Museum
Chapel
Orientation 2
Display 3

ABS 244

 Code: ABS 244

  Country: Tibet

  Style:

  Date: 1400 - 1500

  Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 11.5 x 17.7 x 8.5

  Materials: Brass; eyes inlaid with silver, lips with copper

Sita Tara – The White Tara

Sita Tara or “the White liberator” is one of the famous manifestation of Tara (Drölma in Tibetan), the most important female deity of all Buddhism. She is especially invoked for longevity.

Young and beautiful, she sits on a lotus pedestal with her legs crossed in meditation. Her right hand forms the mudra of generosity, and with her left, she holds the stem of a white lotus, the three raised fingers representing the three jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. In the royal attire of the divine manifestation, she has seven eyes, three on her face, two in the palm of her hands, and two on the sole of her feet.

This Tibetan statue of Tara bears many similarities with works produced in the Chinese imperial workshops of the early Ming emperors at Beijing, in particular during the Yongle (1403-1424) and Xuande period (1426-1435). This style of Tibeto-Chinese sculptures of the Yongle period was influenced by contemporary Nepalese and Tibetan prototypes.