Thangka Paintings in Tibetan Culture

Vibrant thangka paintings illustrating Tibetan Buddhist themes and figures. They showcase intricate designs and rich colors, encapsulating spiritual stories and cultural heritage.

Mahakala and his Entourage. Central Tibet, Gyantse (), circa 1450-1500. Paintings. Mineral pigments, gold, and ink on cotton cloth

Kunga Tashi and Incidents from His Life (Abbot of Sakya Monastery, 1688-1711). Central Tibet, a Sakyapa Monastery, circa 1700. Paintings. Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth

Tangka with Buddha 19th century Tibet. Tangka with Buddha. Tibet. 19th century. Distemper on cloth. Paintings

Painted Banner (Thangka) of Sage Guru Padmasambhava Seated Holding a Thunderbolt (Vajra) and Skull Cup (Kapala) 1701-1800 Tibet. Opaque watercolor with some powdered gold on a woven textile support .

'Avalokiteshvara Mahakarunika'. China, Early 19th century. Dimensions: 54x37 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Sakya Pandita 18th century Eastern Tibet. Sakya Pandita. Eastern Tibet. 18th century. Distemper on cloth. Paintings

Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. unknown, painter

Nagarjuna (c. AD 150-250) with a Buddhist Master, c. 1300s. Nepal. Gum tempera on sized cotton; overall: 57.8 x 45.1 cm (22 3/4 x 17 3/4 in.). Nagarjuna, the Buddhist philosopher from southern India, sits on his eponymous red and black serpents, or naga. His interlocutor may be his disciple Aryadeva. A volume of the Perfection of Wisdom, honored with flowers, is on a golden bookstand between their heads. The figures sit beneath flowering and fruiting trees with peacocks and parrots, evoking the landscape of India. Lineage masters of the Sakya order of Buddhism are aligned in the top row, beginning with Virupa at the upper right. The monk who was the donor of this painting is in the lower left corner.

Mahakala and his Entourage. Central Tibet, Gyantse (), circa 1450-1500. Paintings. Mineral pigments, gold, and ink on cotton cloth

The Goddess Sarasvati. Eastern Tibet, Kham region, 18th century. Paintings. Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth

Aizen Myōō, 1300s. Japan, Kamakura period (1185-1333) to Nanbokuchō period (1336-92). Hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk; painting: 102 x 60.5 cm (40 3/16 x 23 13/16 in.); mounted: 183.2 x 80.3 cm (72 1/8 x 31 5/8 in.). Aizen My, is the Wisdom King of Passion. He is one of the Five Great Wisdom Kings who protect the Five Wisdom Buddhas. Each of these Buddhas represents one of the five types of wisdom characterizing a mind purified of disturbing emotions, such as desire, fear, and anger. Aizen’s body is red, and he has six arms. He has a flaming mandorla, or body halo, and sits upon a lotus supported by a vase from which flaming, wish-fulfilling jewels flow freely.

The Wrathful Protector Mahakala, Tantric Protective Form of Avalokiteshvara early 18th century Tibet The ferocious aspect of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, Mahakala is shown in a flaming aureole, his six hands holding his horrific ritual implements. Attending Mahakala are four yaksha ministers” in red and blue, and below they ride a bear and a horse and flank the protector goddess Palden Lhamo on her donkey. The celestial Buddha Amitabha presides, flanked by mahasiddhas and Gelugpa patriarchs. Tangkas at this scale often replaced damaged wall paintings. The inscription on the reverse reads in part: The Great Protector, Mahakala, the fierce god who is inseparable from my Lama [to whom I present this tangka of the Great Protector, whose true spirit is ever present in the precious painting... May you the Great Protector always be near us and help us to follow the path to righteousness.”. The Wrathful Protector Mahakala, Tantric Protective Form of Avalokiteshvara. Tibet. early 18th ce

Bodhisattva Samantabhadra , late 18th-early 19th century. Hanging scroll; ink, color, cut gold leaf on rough silk, overall, 100 x 48 1/2 in. Asian Art late 18th-early 19th century

Cosmic Parsvanatha, c. 1525, 31 x 27 in. (78.74 x 68.58 cm) (overall, irregular), Colors on cotton, India, 16th century, This extremely rare painting is a type of meditative picture consisting of a cosmic diagram superimposed on the seated figure of Parsvanatha, one of the principal deities of the Jain religion. Similar in concept and function to Buddhist mandalas, the mystic diagram is dominated by linked squares and circles representing the Jain cosmos. The nine interconnected circles represent the continents, mountains, and rivers of the universe. Symmetrically balanced on either side of Parsvanatha are subsidiary Jain deities, written mantras, and the plants and animals of the mortal realm.

Kurukulla Dancing in Her Mountain Grotto: Folio from a Manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) early 12th century India, West Bengal or Bangladesh Emphasizing her role as destroyer of corruption, the goddess Kurukulla is surrounded by a halo of flame and dances on a corpse. Like so many of the aggressive deities that emerged in the esoteric tradition, Kurukulla is understood to be an emanation of one of the Tathagatasin this case, the calm celestial Buddha Amitabha, who presides over the western Pure Land. Such dualistic female-male or aggressive-pacific relationships typify how the emerging Vajrayana Buddhist pantheon gave visual form to the breadth of the tradition’s ideological discourse and practice. These tiny paintings were executed by an artist of great skill and are among the greatest palm-leaf manuscript illustrations that survive from the Indian subcontinent.. Kurukulla Dancing in Her Mountain Grotto: Folio from a Manuscript of the Ashtasahasri

The Supreme Physician (Bhaishajyaguru) and His Celestial Assembly. Western Tibet, Guge, 15th century. Paintings. Mineral pigments on cotton cloth

The Buddhist Deities Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi. Tibet (by a Newar artist), circa 15th century. Paintings. Mineral pigments and traces of gold on cotton cloth

The Pure Land of Buddha Amitabha. Tangut State of the Western Xia (982-1227). Khara-Khoto. 12th century. Tangka; colours on cotton. The State Hermitage Museum. Saint Petersburg. Russia.

Green Tara, Folio from a dispersed Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Manuscript. Culture: India (Bengal) or Bangladesh. Dimensions: 2 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. (7 x 41.9 cm). Date: early 12th century.Enshrined image of Green Tara with pendant leg and displaying a blue lotus, with two female attendants, one holding a vajra; the other, Mahakali, holding a flaying knife and skullcup (kapala). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Guru Rinpoche (Padmasambhava), the main founder of Buddhism in Tibet, surrounded by other forms of himself. Gouache painting by a Tibetan artist.

Green Tara, Folio from a dispersed Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Manuscript early 12th century India (Bengal) or Bangladesh Enshrined image of seated Green Tara with pendant leg and blue lotus, with two female attendants, one holding a vajra; the other, Mahakali, holding a flaying knife and skullcup (kapala). Green Tara, Folio from a dispersed Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Manuscript 74905

Green Tara, Folio from a dispersed Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Manuscript early 12th century India (Bengal) or Bangladesh Enshrined image of Green Tara with pendant leg and displaying a blue lotus, with two female attendants, one holding a vajra; the other, Mahakali, holding a flaying knife and skullcup (kapala).. Green Tara, Folio from a dispersed Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom) Manuscript 74911

Acala, The Buddhist Protector equivalent to February / March 1322 Nepal, Kathmandu Valley Acala (literally, immovable”) is a wrathful manifestation of Manjushri. He wields a sword to dispatch ignorance and a noose to snare disbelievers. His enflamed wide eyes and a facial grimace exposing teeth express his fearsome aspect. He kneels with one knee on the ground, evoking his role as a protector of the earth. He is set in a flaming aureole, his knowledge field, and is honored with an elaborate archway (torana) topped by Garuda fighting two nagas. Numerous protective emanations surround him in a series of registers; in the lower register, a Vajracharya priest performs rituals for the benefit of the donor family seated opposite.. Acala, The Buddhist Protector 38011

Milarepa on Mount Kailash. Tibet. Date: 1400-1500. Dimensions: 45.5 × 30 cm (17 7/8 × 11 13/16 in.). Pigment and gold on cotton. Origin: Tibet. Museum: The Chicago Art Institute, USA.

Mandala of Chandra, God of the Moon late 14th-early 15th century Nepal (Kathmandu Valley) The center of this mandala depicts the moon god Chandra flanked by two female archers who shoot arrows of light to drive away the darkness. Chandra holds two lotuses and rides a chariot pulled by seven geese, an arrangement that parallels depictions of the sun god Surya, whose chariot is pulled by horses. Surrounding the central tableau are the nine planetary deities, which includes another depiction of Chandra. Across the top of the painting are the five directional buddhas (tathagatha) flanked by bodhisattvas at either end. The bottom register is divided into three panels that depict, from left to right, a ceremony, a group of musicians and dancers, and a group of patrons. Worship of the moon god Chandra was popular in Nepali Buddhism in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, although it appears to have declined thereafter.. Mandala of Chandra, God of the Moon 38344

Tantra is an esoteric current of Hinduism. The word Tantra also applies to any of the scriptures (called 'Tantras') commonly identified with the worship of Shakti. Tantra deals primarily with spiritual practices and ritual forms of worship, which aim at liberation from ignorance and rebirth, the universe being regarded as the divine play of Shakti and Shiva. Tantrism originated in the early centuries CE and developed into a fully articulated tradition by the end of the Gupta period. It has influenced the Hindu, Sikh, Bon, Buddhist, and Jain religious traditions. Along with Buddhism, Tantra in its various forms has spread to Tibet, East Asia and Southeast Asia.

Buddha and Sixteen Benevolent Deities Buddha and Sixteen Benevolent Deities, 13th-14th century. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper, Image: 41 3/4 x 21 3/4 in. (106 x 55.2 cm). Asian Art 13th-14th century

Shakyamuni with the Thirty-Five Buddhas of the Confession of Sins and the Eighteen Arhats. Western Tibet, Guge, 15th century. Paintings. Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth

Mahakala, Protector of the Tent ca. 1500 Central Tibet Mahakala is one of the most popular guardians in the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. Here he tramples a corpse while wielding a flaying knife and a blood-filled skull cup, signifying the destruction of impediments to enlightenment. In the crooks of his elbows he supports a gandi gong, a symbol of his vow to protect the community of monks (sangha). His principal companions, Palden Remati and Palden Lhamo, appear to his left, and Legden Nagpo and Bhutadamara are at his right. At lower left is Brahmarupa blowing a thighbone trumpet. He is especially revered by the Sakya order, which commissioned this work. This tangka, one of the earliest and grandest of this subject, can be related to murals preserved in the fifteenth-century Kumbum at Gyantse monastery, central Tibet, likely painted under Newari direction.. Mahakala, Protector of the Tent. Central Tibet. ca. 1500. Distemper on cloth. Paintings

Avalokiteśvara surrounded by other deities. Distemper painting.

Temple Hanging, 1368-1644, L.18-3/4 x W.26-3/4 x D. 3/8 in, silk, China, 14th-17th century

Arhat Chudapanthaka () with Attendants. Central Tibet, circa 14th century. Paintings. Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth

Buddha Amitayus in His Pure Land. Date/Period: 2nd half of the 18th century. Painting. Pigments on cloth Pigments on cloth. Height: 844.55 mm (33.25 in); Width: 565.15 mm (22.25 in). Author: UNKNOWN.

Lineage Portrait of an Abbot ca. 1350 Central Tibet The abbot of this lineage portrait belongs to the Kagyupa order of Tibetan Buddhism, centered in the U (dBus) and Tsang (gTsang) regions of Central Tibet. Here we witness a bringing together of these two stylistic streams during the fourteenth century. The lamas face has a portrait-like quality—his concentrated expression projected both within and outward to the viewer. He is seated on a lotus throne with his right hand in bhumisparsa mudra, like the Buddha Shakyamuni. This gesture is unusual, as the majority of portraits of Tibetan lamas from this period are shown with their hands in the dharmachakra mudra (preaching gesture). His lineage is seen in the upper border, and the Indian pandits in the acanthus border roundels further define its authority. At lower right is the officiating monk, likely the donor, holding a golden incense burner.. Lineage Portrait of an Abbot 37971

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio 11th-12th century Unidentified This is a rare and early representation of the goddess personification of the Prajnaparamita Sutra text. She is shown two armed, gesturing the turning of the wheel, the wisdom teaching mudra, dharmachakra. She is seen seated on a lotus cushion with floating ribbons along with energy waves that radiate from her body into the heat of the encircling mandorla. She wears a beautifully patterned waist skirt. All is contained in a pillared shrine, with diaper-patterned uprights and a six-cusped arch with red curtains and pendant lotus buds. The goddess fixes the devotee with a unfaltering gaze. The figures exaggerated and stylized treatment of anatomy typifies the Kashmiri painting style as practiced in the western Himalayas. Colors are radiant and have a luminosity that enhances the figures other-worldliness. The goddess floats against a gold to red radiance that is in turn enveloped in a rainbow aureole of

Fragment of a Prajnaparamita Sutra manuscript folio 11th century Unidentified This painting depicts the personification of the wisdom text Prajnaparamita. She is represented in six-armed form, the central hands are held over the heart in a variation of the dharmacakramudra, whilst her upper hands display the sacred book (pustaka) and the thunderbolt scepter (vajra), whilst her lower hands hold a rosary (mala) and gesture boon granting. She wears golden jewelry on her body and a tripartite diadem adorns herhead, which is framed by a red halo. A girdle, seemingly of strings of pearls, secures her waistcloth, beautifully decorated with large red rosettes in blue hexagonal frames. Slender ribbons fly through the air, one supporting a blue lotus bloom and stem. She is seated in a mediation posture, enthroned on a golden lotus and she is encircled in a rainbow colored nimbus. Particularly noteworthy is the tonal modelling of the bodily forms, heightened with finely controlled orange-red line

Buddhist Protector Chakrasamvara with ConsortVajravarahi

'Tsogshin'. China, 19th century. Dimensions: 52x77 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Six-Armed Avalokiteshvara Expounding the Dharma: Folio from a Manuscript of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita (Perfection of Wisdom). Culture: India (West Bengal) or Bangladesh. Dimensions: 2 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. (7 x 41.9 cm). Date: early 12th century.This depiction of Avalokiteshvara is part of a group of illuminations from a dispersed manuscript. This text was understood to contain the totality of Mahayana ideology in eight thousand verses. As the placement of Avalokiteshvara and the other deities does not relate to the content of the text, it appears that their function relates to treating the book as an object to be venerated, the interspersed Buddhist having auspicious and protective roles. The text is written in a black carbon-based ink, while the illustrations were executed in mineral- and vegetable-based pigments. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Initiation Card (Tsakalis): Samanthabhadri (Consort) early 15th century Tibet Tsakali cards were used by itinerant teachers moving from one monastery to another in order to evoke Vajrayana Buddhist deities. When laid on the ground in the form of a mandala, as seen here, they functioned to create a fixed sacred space like that of a temple. The deities shown on these initiation cards include the Tathagata Buddhas, various bodhisattvas, fierce protectors, and the six possible realms of rebirth seen across the bottom. They probably were made by a Nepali artist for a Tibetan patron of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.Tsakali cards were used individually to align a disciple with a deity from the vast pantheon. First, the disciple sought permission from the deity, either through a dream or under the guidance of a teacher. The associated ritual involved visualizing the deity as described in recited mantras (incantations) and with an imagein this case, the deity represented on the tsakal

Thousand-Armed Chenresi, a Cosmic Form of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara 14th century Tibet. Thousand-Armed Chenresi, a Cosmic Form of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Tibet. 14th century. Distemper and gold on cloth. Paintings

Thousand-Armed Chenresi, a Cosmic Form of the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Culture: Tibet. Dimensions: Overall: 28 3/4 x 24 in. (73 x 61 cm). Date: 14th century. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

An Abbot and His Lineage. Western Tibet, 14th century or earlier. Paintings. Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth

'Lcang Skya Khutukhta Rolpa'i Rdo Rje with his Retinue'. Tibet, Middle of the 19th century. Dimensions: 68x45 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript ca. 1490 India (Gujarat) In Jain cosmology, Shakras heaven is a blissful place where the jinas reside for eternity. It is populated by celestial dancers, seen here as beautiful maidens sensuously poised in the text margins. These scenes are echoed in the textual descriptions of the Kalpasutra celebrating Mahavira. The manuscript displays an innovative use of red, blue, and green marginal designs that anticipates sixteenth-century styles and lavish gold script on a red ground.. Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript 37836

Guanyin emanations; beginning of the 20th century () (1900-00-00-1910-00-00);Czarnowska, Franciszka Paulina (Fl. 1964) - collection, guanyin (iconogr.), Dar (provenance), painting, scrolls, vertical ganglia

Pelden Lhamo's deity; XIX-1. after. 20th century (1801-00-00-1950-00-00);Pudłowski, Andrzej - collection, painting, purchase (provenance)

Dzambhala or Dodnevangpo, the God of wealth. Chromolithograph.

Absolute Nothingness, Folio from a Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses). Western Tibet, Maryul district, Tholing Monastery, 11th century. Manuscripts. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Tsongkapa. Date/Period: 15th century. Painting. Pigments on cloth Pigments on cloth. Height: 1,289.05 mm (50.75 in); Width: 965.20 mm (38 in). Author: UNKNOWN.

Page 60 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto text, verso image of Parshvanatha beneath the cobra canopy Page 60 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto text, verso image of Parshvanatha beneath the cobra canopy, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, sheet: height: 4 3/8 in. Asian Art 1472

Mural of Green Tara in a Tibetan Monastery in Dabpa County, Kham - Sichuan Province, China, (Tibet)

Mañjuśrī is a bodhisattva associated with transcendent wisdom (Skt. prajñā) in Mahāyāna Buddhism. Samantabhadra (Sanskrit: 'Universal Worthy'), is a Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism.

The Mogao Caves, or Mogao Grottoes (Chinese: mògao ku), also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas and Dunhuang Caves, form a system of 492 temples 25 km (15.5 miles) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The first caves were dug out 366 AD as places of Buddhist meditation and worship. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient sculptural sites of China. The caves also have famous wall paintings.

Samvara Mandala. A Buddhist mandala 18th Century canvas (painting), tempera Bhutan

Hevajra Mandala. Date/Period: 17th century. Painting. Pigments on cloth Pigments on cloth. Height: 419.10 mm (16.50 in); Width: 349.25 mm (13.75 in). Author: UNKNOWN.

Initiation Card (Tsakalis): Vairochana early 15th century Tibet Tsakali cards were used by itinerant teachers moving from one monastery to another in order to evoke Vajrayana Buddhist deities. When laid on the ground in the form of a mandala, as seen here, they functioned to create a fixed sacred space like that of a temple. The deities shown on these initiation cards include the Tathagata Buddhas, various bodhisattvas, fierce protectors, and the six possible realms of rebirth seen across the bottom. They probably were made by a Nepali artist for a Tibetan patron of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism.Tsakali cards were used individually to align a disciple with a deity from the vast pantheon. First, the disciple sought permission from the deity, either through a dream or under the guidance of a teacher. The associated ritual involved visualizing the deity as described in recited mantras (incantations) and with an imagein this case, the deity represented on the tsakali.The cards fo

Dhritarashtra, the gaurdian king of the east, at Lhakhang Karpo in Litang Chode, Kham - Sichuan Province, China, (Tibet)

A Pancharaksha (The Five Protective Charms) Manuscript. Nepal, Chakrabahal, 1755. Manuscripts. Opaque watercolor and ink on paper and wood; wood cover wrapped with thread and colored with ointments

Hokekyo Mandara lotus sutra. Silk. Kamakura period. 13c.

Guru Dragpo. Culture: Tibet. Dimensions: Image: 24 in. × 17 1/2 in. (61 × 44.5 cm)Framed: 33 1/16 × 25 13/16 in. (84 × 65.5 cm). Date: 18th century.Guru Dragpo, a fierce emanation of the guru-saint Padmasambhava, stands astride a flaming aureole holding a ritual tool, the vajra, and a black scorpion. The skin of a tiger is drawn around his waist while the flayed skin of an elephant is draped over his shoulders. He wears a crown adorned with skulls and a garland of severed heads. In this wrathful meditational form, Guru Dragpo was an important protector deity of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. In the upper register are depictions, from left, of Manjushri, Shadakshari Lokesvara, Amitabha, Padmasambhava, and the wrathful deity Hayagriva. In the lower register appear the ireful deities of Guru Dragpo's retinue, including blue Vajrapani to the left and the yaksha Jambhala, god of wealth, at center. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

The Panchen Lama is the highest ranking Lama after the Dalai Lama in the Gelugpa (Dge-lugs-pa) sect of Tibetan Buddhism (the sect which controlled western Tibet from the 16th century until the imposition of Chinese sovereignty in 1951). The successive Panchen lamas form a tulku reincarnation lineage which are said to be the incarnations of Amitabha Buddha. The name, meaning 'great scholar', is a Tibetan contraction of the Sanskrit pandita (scholar) and the Tibetan chenpo (great). The Panchen Lama traditionally lived in Tashilhunpo Monastery in Shigatse.

Mandala, early 18th Century. Tibet, 18th century. Color on canvas; overall: 128.2 x 82.6 cm (50 1/2 x 32 1/2 in.).

Chakrasamvara Mandala ca. 1100 Nepal This ritual diagram (mandala) is conceived as the cosmic palace of the wrathful Chakrasamvara and his consort, Vajravarahi, seen at center. These deities embody the esoteric knowledge of the Yoga Tantras. Six goddesses on stylized lotus petals surround the divine couple. Framing the mandala are the eight great burial grounds of India, each presided over by a deity beneath a tree. The cemeteries are appropriate places for meditation on Chakrasamvara and are emblematic of the various realms of existence. The lower register contains five forms of the goddess Tara, a tantric adept at left, and two donors at right. This mandala is one of the earliest surviving large-scale paintings known from Nepal. Stylistic features relate it to Nepalese manuscript covers and to eastern Indian palm-leaf manuscript illustrations of the twelfth century. Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story Listen Play or pause #7941. Paramasukha-Chakrasamvara Mandala Support

The Twenty Tirthankaras: Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript 1461 (Samvat 1519) India (Gujarat). The Twenty Tirthankaras: Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript 37841

Mahavira Distributes Wealth: Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript. Culture: India (Gujarat). Dimensions: 4 3/8 x 10 1/8 in. (11.1 x 25.7 cm). Date: 1461 (Samvat 1519). Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Arhat Kalika 17th century Tibet. Arhat Kalika. Tibet. 17th century. Distemper on cloth. Paintings

The Mogao Caves, or Mogao Grottoes (Chinese: mogao ku), also known as the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas and Dunhuang Caves, form a system of 492 temples 25 km (15.5 miles) southeast of the center of Dunhuang, an oasis strategically located at a religious and cultural crossroads on the Silk Road, in Gansu province, China. The caves contain some of the finest examples of Buddhist art spanning a period of 1,000 years. The first caves were dug out 366 AD as places of Buddhist meditation and worship. The Mogao Caves are the best known of the Chinese Buddhist grottoes and, along with Longmen Grottoes and Yungang Grottoes, are one of the three famous ancient sculptural sites of China. The caves also have famous wall paintings.

Female deity Gob-yin lha. unknown, painter

Kalaka and Sahi, Page from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha Indian. Kalaka and Sahi, Page from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha, ca. 15th century. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 4 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (10.8 x 26.0 cm). Asian Art ca. 15th century

Page 47 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto text, verso image of Mahavira on a palanquin Page 47 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto text, verso image of Mahavira on a palanquin, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, 4 3/8 x 10 1/4 in. (11.1 x 26 cm). Asian Art 1472

Celestial Performers: Folios from a Kalpasutra Manuscript. Culture: India (Gujarat). Dimensions: Overall: 4 1/2 x 11 1/2 in. (11.4 x 29.2 cm). Date: ca. 1490.In Jain cosmology, Shakra's heaven is a blissful place where the jinas reside for eternity. It is populated by celestial dancers, seen here as beautiful maidens sensuously poised in the text margins. These scenes are echoed in the textual descriptions of the Kalpasutra celebrating Mahavira. The manuscript displays an innovative use of red, blue, and green marginal designs that anticipates sixteenth-century styles and lavish gold script on a red ground. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.

Mahavira Distributes Wealth: Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript 1461 (Samvat 1519) India (Gujarat). Mahavira Distributes Wealth: Folio from a Kalpasutra Manuscript 37843

Ayutthaya Historical Park in Thailand

Kalachakra (Sanskrit: Kalacakra) is a Sanskrit term used in Tantric Buddhism that literally means 'time-wheel' or 'time-cycles'. The Kalachakra tradition revolves around the concept of time (kala) and cycles (chakra): from the cycles of the planets, to the cycles of human breathing, it teaches the practice of working with the most subtle energies within one's body on the path to enlightenment. The Kalachakra deity represents a Buddha and thus omniscience. Since Kalachakra is time and everything is under the influence of time, Kalachakra knows all. Whereas Kalachakri or Kalichakra, his spiritual consort and complement, is aware of everything that is timeless, untimebound or out of the realm of time. In Yab-yum, they are temporality and atemporality conjoined. Similarly, the wheel is without beginning or end.

Yamantaka Vajrabhairava. Central Tibet, Tsang Valley, a Sakyapa Monastery, mid-15th century. Paintings. Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth

Page 65 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto Neminatha's initiation, verso text Page 65 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto Neminatha's initiation, verso text, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, sheet: height: 4 3/8 in. Asian Art 1472

'Pure Land of Buddha Amitabha'. Tibet, Late 18th century. Dimensions: 44x35 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Kalaka Converts the Bricks to Gold, Leaf from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha Indian. Kalaka Converts the Bricks to Gold, Leaf from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha, ca. 15th century. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 4 1/2 x 11 1/4 in. (11.4 x 28.6 cm). Asian Art ca. 15th century

Page 40 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto image of Jamnabhisheka (), verso text Page 40 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto image of Jamnabhisheka (), verso text, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, 4 3/8 x 10 1/4 in. (11.1 x 26 cm). Asian Art 1472

Leaf from an Illuminated Buddhist Manuscript 14th century Nepal (Kathmandu Valley). Leaf from an Illuminated Buddhist Manuscript 74882

Tamo or Tamonten is the Japanese name for Vaisravana. The character of Vaisravaa is founded upon the Hindu deity Kubera, but although the Buddhist and Hindu deities share some characteristics and epithets, each of them has different functions and associated myths. Although brought into East Asia as a Buddhist deity, Vaisravaa has become a character in folk religion and has acquired an identity that is partially independent of the Buddhist tradition (cf. the similar treatment of Kuan Yin and Yama). Vaisravaa is the guardian of the northern direction, and his home is in the northern quadrant of the topmost tier of the lower half of Mount Sumeru. He is the leader of all the yakas who dwell on the Sumeru's slopes. He is often portrayed with a yellow face. He carries an umbrella or parasol (chatra) as a symbol of his sovereignty. He is also sometimes displayed with a mongoose, often shown ejecting jewels from its mouth. The mongoose is the enemy of the snake, a symbol of greed or hatred

Buddhist subject. Gouache painting.

A Goddess, Folio from a Shatasahasrika Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom in 100,000 Verses). Western Tibet, Maryul district, Tholing Monastery, 16th-17th century. Manuscripts. Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper

Portrait of a Lama, Possibly Dromton last quarter of the 11th century Tibet This enthroned lama, in a gold decorated robe, sits in a yogic posture, holding his hands in dharmachakra mudra, symbolizing the Turning of the Wheel, the Buddhas first sermon. The elaborate architectural setting is supported by lions and flanked by two rearing leogryphs on elephants. In the upper corners, two bodhisattvas expound the dharma, their hand gestures echoing those of the preaching lama. An inscription on the reverse establishes that the portrait belonged to Chengawa Tsultrim Bar. In all likelihood it depicts Dromton (1005-1064), of whom Chengawa Tsultrim Bar was a leading disciple. Dromton was the founder of the Reting monastery, seat of the Kadampa school and the foremost disciple of the Indian monk Atisha, who revitalized Tibetan Buddhism in the first half of the eleventh century. The image thus establishes a formidable lineage.. Portrait of a Lama, Possibly Dromton. Tibet. last quarter of the 11

'Buddha Sakyamuni and 152 Tathagatas'. Tibet, Early 19th century. Dimensions: 76x55 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Ritual miniature tsakali with the image of a two -armed goddess of the White Tara; 19th century (1801-00-00-1900-00-00);

Acarya Bhavaviveka Converts a Nonbeliever to Buddhism. Date/Period: 18th century; Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Gelug monastic order. Painting. Color on cloth; cloth mounting Color on cloth; cloth mounting. Height: 1,353.57 mm (53.29 in); Width: 845.31 mm (33.27 in). Author: Sino-Tibetan unknown.

Page 65 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto Neminatha's initiation, verso text Page 65 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto Neminatha's initiation, verso text, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, sheet: height: 4 3/8 in. Asian Art 1472

'Gubilha'. Tibet, Early 19th century. Dimensions: 66x47 cm. Museum: State Hermitage, St. Petersburg.

Buddhist Protector Yama Dharmaraja withConsort

Page 53 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto image of Moksha of Mahavira, verso text Page 53 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto image of Moksha of Mahavira, verso text, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, 4 3/8 x 10 1/4 in. (11.1 x 26 cm). Asian Art 1472

Paintings of Buddhist deities, Phyang Monastery, Leh, Ladakh, India. Paintings of Buddhist deities, Phyang Monastery, Leh, Ladakh, India. Copyright: xZoonar.com/RealityImagesx 22018056

Page 39 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto image of Trishala reclining, verso text Page 39 from a manuscript of the Kalpasutra: recto image of Trishala reclining, verso text, 1472. Opaque watercolor and ink on gold leaf on paper, sheet: height: 4 3/8 in. Asian Art 1472

Kalaka with Shakra Disguised and Revealed, Leaf from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha Indian. Kalaka with Shakra Disguised and Revealed, Leaf from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha, ca. 15th century. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 4 1/4 x 10 1/4 in. (10.8 x 26.0 cm). Asian Art ca. 15th century

Leaf from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha Indian. Leaf from a Dispersed Jain Manuscript of the Kalakacharya-katha, ca. 1450-1475. Opaque watercolor and gold on paper, sheet: 4 3/8 x 10 1/2 in. (11.1 x 26.7 cm). Asian Art ca. 1450-1475

Manuscript Cover with Prajnaparamita Flanked by Buddha Shakyamuni (left) and Amitayus, the Buddha of Eternal Life (right), From a Prajnaparamita (The Perfection of Wisdom) Manuscript. Central or Western Tibet, 15th century. Manuscripts. Wood with opaque watercolor

Paintings on a wall, Mogao Caves, Dunhuang, China

Buddha with His Hands Raised in Dharmacakra Mudra, Leaf from a dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnaparamita Manuscript ca. 1090 India (Bengal) or Bangladesh Buddha with his hands raised in dharmacakra mudra, preaching first sermon at Sarnath, attended by two disciples.. Buddha with His Hands Raised in Dharmacakra Mudra, Leaf from a dispersed Pancavimsatisahasrika Prajnaparamita Manuscript 74855

TAPIZ DE SEDA TARTARO - DETALLE. Location: PRIVATE COLLECTION. MADRID. SPAIN. BUDDHA.

The Jina Buddha Akshobhya, Folio from a Pancharaksha (The Five Protective Charms). Nepal, late 16th century. Manuscripts. Opaque watercolor and ink on paper

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