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Shakyamuni with scenes from the Kinnari Jataka
Nepalese
1552
Object Place: Nepal
Medium/Technique
Distemper on cotton
Dimensions
95.7 x 80.5 cm (37 11/16 x 31 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of John Goelet
Accession Number67.847
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings
DescriptionPainting with decorative borders, mounted on support panel. Would have originally been in thangka format.
A crowned Shakyamuni Buddha sits on an elaborate throne with one hand on his lap in the meditative position (dhyana mudra) and one hand touching the base of the throne (bhumi sparsa mudra). He is flanked by attendants, perhaps Bodhisattvas, with smaller divine figures seated on lotuses on either side. An elaborate border surrounds the central area, containing multiple rectangular cells, each one containing a figure of a religious figure or a scene from the Kinnari Jataka.
The Kinnari Jataka tells the story of one of Shakyamuni Buddha's previous births, in which he lived as a prince who was married to a woman of the class of minor deities known as kinnaras. The story tells of the prince's great love for his wife, which leads him to her native land in the Himalayas.
A crowned Shakyamuni Buddha sits on an elaborate throne with one hand on his lap in the meditative position (dhyana mudra) and one hand touching the base of the throne (bhumi sparsa mudra). He is flanked by attendants, perhaps Bodhisattvas, with smaller divine figures seated on lotuses on either side. An elaborate border surrounds the central area, containing multiple rectangular cells, each one containing a figure of a religious figure or a scene from the Kinnari Jataka.
The Kinnari Jataka tells the story of one of Shakyamuni Buddha's previous births, in which he lived as a prince who was married to a woman of the class of minor deities known as kinnaras. The story tells of the prince's great love for his wife, which leads him to her native land in the Himalayas.
ProvenanceBy 1967, John Goelet, New York, NY; 1967, gift of Goelet to the MFA. (Accession Date: September 13, 1967)