Mandala of Vajradhara, Manjushri and Sadakshari -Lokeshvara
Not on view
This is one of a group of luxurious Tibetan-style paintings produced at the Ming court in Beijing during the late fifteenth century. The Chinese inscription in gold along the bottom border dates the piece to the fifteenth day of the fourth month of 1479—the Buddha’s birthday. The forms of the deities are drawn from Tibetan iconography, but the elaborate floral scrolls that form the lush background are enlivened by techniques drawn from Chinese bird-and-flower painting. This painting was likely used in a Buddha’s birthday celebration at one of the many monasteries in Beijing that housed Tibetan monks during the Ming.
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