17TH/18TH CENTURY

The present silk thangka falls into a category of rare Buddhist textiles produced during the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, many of which were produced as imperial commissions at the Court. The present depiction is that of Buddha with his right hand in bhumisparsa mudra, symbolizing his enlightenment, in front of an openwork mandorla replete with the bajixiang amidst a leafy scroll. At the top is Vajradara, the primordial Buddha. Standing in front of the seated Buddha are two disciples, likely representing Kasyapa and Ananda. A similar configuration of Buddha flanked by two incarnations of Tara can be seen in a silk thangka, also reserved on a blue silk ground, in the Potala Palace, illustrated in Zhongguo Meishu Quanji: Gongyi Meishu Bian - 7 - Yin Ran Zhi Xiu (2), Beijing, 1987, p. 211, no. 204, where it is dated to the Qing dynasty.