Tangka
1468 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This scroll painting or tangka depicts a mandala of Simhavaktra, the ‘Lion Faced’ dakini. (Dakinis are female personifications of Enlightenment who appear to inspire, encourage and initiate the human practitioner.) She dances at the centre of the picture and is surrounded by four other emanations of herself. She holds a chopper of drigu in her right hand. In her left she holds a skull cup or kapala and a ritual staff or khatvanga.
This tangka has been painted in the Nepalese-Tibetan style. This had been established in China for Buddhist art production more than 150 years earlier. Its style links it to a group of paintings that Buddhist patrons created for the ‘Temple of Great and Mighty Benevolence which Protects the Dynasty’, located in the north-west of Beijing. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty patronised the temple in the 15th century. It was a renowned centre of Tibetan Buddhist teaching in China.
This tangka has been painted in the Nepalese-Tibetan style. This had been established in China for Buddhist art production more than 150 years earlier. Its style links it to a group of paintings that Buddhist patrons created for the ‘Temple of Great and Mighty Benevolence which Protects the Dynasty’, located in the north-west of Beijing. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty patronised the temple in the 15th century. It was a renowned centre of Tibetan Buddhist teaching in China.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Gouache on cotton |
| Brief description | Mandala of Simhavaktra; Religion, Tibet, 1468 |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Collected in Beijing in 1907 |
| Historical context | A painted scroll or tangka depicting a mandala of Simhavaktra or the "Lion faced" dakini, created for Buddhist patrons, almost certainly in Beijing. |
| Production | In the same style and almost of the same date as V&A number E.61-1911a scroll acquired from the "Temple of Great and Mighty Benevolence which Protects the Dynasty" in the north-west of Beijing. |
| Summary | This scroll painting or tangka depicts a mandala of Simhavaktra, the ‘Lion Faced’ dakini. (Dakinis are female personifications of Enlightenment who appear to inspire, encourage and initiate the human practitioner.) She dances at the centre of the picture and is surrounded by four other emanations of herself. She holds a chopper of drigu in her right hand. In her left she holds a skull cup or kapala and a ritual staff or khatvanga. This tangka has been painted in the Nepalese-Tibetan style. This had been established in China for Buddhist art production more than 150 years earlier. Its style links it to a group of paintings that Buddhist patrons created for the ‘Temple of Great and Mighty Benevolence which Protects the Dynasty’, located in the north-west of Beijing. Emperors of the Ming Dynasty patronised the temple in the 15th century. It was a renowned centre of Tibetan Buddhist teaching in China. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.14-1969 |
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| Record created | February 25, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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