Karmapa 09 Wanchuk Dorje (1556-1603)
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Chapel
Orientation 3
Display 6

ABS 068

 Code: ABS 068

  Country: Tibet (east)

  Style:

  Date: 1550 - 1600

  Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 10.5 x 11 x 9.2

  Materials: Painted wood

Karmapa 09 Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603) 

This wood statue represents an aged master sitting legs crossed over a rectangular cushion marked with cloud patterns and a vajra. Clad in monastic robes and a heavy meditation cloak, his right hand touches the ground before him while his left rests in his lap, holding a text. The statue is elegantly painted with gilded patterns. An inscription on the back of the pedestal identifies him as Wangchuk Dorje (1556-1603), the Ninth Karmapa or “Black hat master” of the Kagyü school of Tibetan Buddhism. Unexpectedly, he is represented bareheaded, without his distinctive black hat visible on the portraits of his other incarnations (ABS 075, 134, 318). The realistic features of his face could indicate that the portrait was made during or shortly after his life.