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Mandala Of Sarvavid-Vairocana
Tibetan
16th century
Object Place: Tibet
Medium/Technique
Distemper on cotton
Dimensions
Image: 76.2 × 71.1 cm (30 × 28 in.)
Framed: 108 × 94.6 cm (42 1/2 × 37 1/4 in.)
Framed: 108 × 94.6 cm (42 1/2 × 37 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of John Goelet
Accession Number67.833
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
DescriptionPainting with decorative borders, mounted on support panel. Would have originally been in thangka format.
Mandala centering on the transcendental Buddha Vairocana in his manifestation as Sarvavid-Vairocana, a white figure with four faces, seated in a posture of meditation on a lion throne. Many other divinities surround this central figure, including four large figures seated in the four corners of the painting, representing forms of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The iconography of this mandala comes from the Durgatiparishodhana Tantra, or "Tantra of the Purification of Evil Rebirths." It represents very esoteric subject matter that would not have been available to the uninitiated, and as such, mandalas of Vairochana are relatively rare.
At the center is the transcendental Buddha Sarvavid ("All-Knowing") Vairochana. He has four faces and white skin and is surounded by the Buddhas of the four directions, the sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Diamond Realm, and many other gods and goddesses in concentric circles and squares. Monks and deities related to the Sa-skya-pa sect of Tibetan Buddhism line the top and bottom of the painting, with three manifestations of Shakyamuni Buddha and one of Maitreya Buddha in large circles at the corners.
Like the double portrait thangka 67.831, this mandala appears to be in the style of the Ngor monastery of southern Tibet. Although the two examples are very different in overall composition and conception, both make use of a clearly-delineated foliate ornamentation, bright colors, and somewhat flat but lively figuration.
Mandala centering on the transcendental Buddha Vairocana in his manifestation as Sarvavid-Vairocana, a white figure with four faces, seated in a posture of meditation on a lion throne. Many other divinities surround this central figure, including four large figures seated in the four corners of the painting, representing forms of Shakyamuni Buddha.
The iconography of this mandala comes from the Durgatiparishodhana Tantra, or "Tantra of the Purification of Evil Rebirths." It represents very esoteric subject matter that would not have been available to the uninitiated, and as such, mandalas of Vairochana are relatively rare.
At the center is the transcendental Buddha Sarvavid ("All-Knowing") Vairochana. He has four faces and white skin and is surounded by the Buddhas of the four directions, the sixteen Bodhisattvas of the Diamond Realm, and many other gods and goddesses in concentric circles and squares. Monks and deities related to the Sa-skya-pa sect of Tibetan Buddhism line the top and bottom of the painting, with three manifestations of Shakyamuni Buddha and one of Maitreya Buddha in large circles at the corners.
Like the double portrait thangka 67.831, this mandala appears to be in the style of the Ngor monastery of southern Tibet. Although the two examples are very different in overall composition and conception, both make use of a clearly-delineated foliate ornamentation, bright colors, and somewhat flat but lively figuration.
ProvenanceBy 1967, John Goelet, New York, NY; 1967, gift of Goelet to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 13, 1967)