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Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari

Tibetan
18th century
Object Place: Tibet

Medium/Technique Distemper and gold on cotton, mounted with silk brocades, wood dowels
Dimensions 76 x 55.5 cm (29 15/16 x 21 7/8 in.)
Credit Line William Sturgis Bigelow Collection
Accession Number21.739
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings

DescriptionPainting in hanging scroll (thangka) format, with no streamers or veil.

Four-armed Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari sits holding a jewel over his heart in his two lower hands. His upper right hand holds a mala and his upper left holds a lotus. Below him, running left to right, are Manjushri (with sword and sutra), Yama, and Mahakala (with vajra and lasso). Above him, left to right, are Padmasambhava, Shakyamuni Buddha, and a Dalai Lama. Also in the upper area are tiny representations of the sun and moon.
Inscriptionson reverse, in gold ink, in Tibetan script: "Om, Ah, Hum" behind each figure.
Provenance1921, William Sturgis Bigelow, Boston, MA; 1921, gift of Bigelow to the MFA. (Accession Date: April 7, 1921)