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Arhats Hva-sang, Gopaka and Pantaka with Two Guardian Kings Virudhaka and Dhritarashtra
Tibetan
19th century
Medium/Technique
Distemper on cotton
Dimensions
190 x 76 cm (74 13/16 x 29 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Julia Bradford Huntington James Fund
Accession Number04.61
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPanels
DescriptionPainting in hanging scroll (thangka) format, with streamers, veil and decorative stitched borders.
Thangka showing three seated Arhats, two guardian kings (dharmapalas), and two primordial Buddhas (tathagatas). Main upper figures are the three Arhats: i. the pot-bellied Hva-sang grasping a rosary in his right hand and a fruit or sweetmeat with his left, ii. Gopaka, enthroned with two manuscripts in his hands, iii. Lam-bstan, seated on a rock, and also holding a manuscript in his right hand, while with his left he performs the gesture (mudra) of exposition (vyakhyanamudra). Above them are two Tathagatas, Vairocana (left) and Ratnasambhava (right). Below the Arhats are the dharma kings, Virudhaka and Dhritarashtra.
Obverse: small gold inscriptions identifying figures.
Thangka showing three seated Arhats, two guardian kings (dharmapalas), and two primordial Buddhas (tathagatas). Main upper figures are the three Arhats: i. the pot-bellied Hva-sang grasping a rosary in his right hand and a fruit or sweetmeat with his left, ii. Gopaka, enthroned with two manuscripts in his hands, iii. Lam-bstan, seated on a rock, and also holding a manuscript in his right hand, while with his left he performs the gesture (mudra) of exposition (vyakhyanamudra). Above them are two Tathagatas, Vairocana (left) and Ratnasambhava (right). Below the Arhats are the dharma kings, Virudhaka and Dhritarashtra.
Obverse: small gold inscriptions identifying figures.
InscriptionsGold Inscription for left Buddha reads "gSer-zangs dri-med la na no" in Tibetan.
Provenance1904, gift of the James Fund to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 14, 1904)