A Thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni

TIBET, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A Thangka of Buddha Shakyamuni
Tibet, 18th Century
The central Buddha figure seated in padmasana on a lotus base, his right hand touching the ground in bhumisparsa mudra, his left hand in dhyanasana holding a bowl, a green halo about his head and a brown and blue mandorla arching around his body, the landscape background with scenes of him teaching his disciples, inscribed in gold
41¾ x 28½ in. (106.2 x 72.4 cm.)

Lot Essay

This painting illustrates scenes from the Avadanas, one hundred and eight edifying tales about the Buddha and the nature of cause and consequence resulting from karma. The style of this thangka takes after a set of paintings conceived by the Seventh Situ Panchen (1700-1774) in Palpung, Kham in 1730. Unlike the Situ paintings, this thangka incorporates unusually large amounts of Tibetan text along with the illustrations.

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