Artwork Page for Nagarjuna (c. 150–250 CE) with a Buddhist Master

Details / Information for Nagarjuna (c. 150–250 CE) with a Buddhist Master

Nagarjuna (c. 150–250 CE) with a Buddhist Master

c. 1300s

Nepal

Medium
gum tempera on sized cotton
Measurements
Overall: 57.8 x 45.1 cm (22 3/4 x 17 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of George P. Bickford 1985.186
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The Bodhisattva of Wisdom, who was Nagarjuna's teacher, is in the central 8-armed figure in the bottom row.

Description

Nagarjuna, the Buddhist philosopher from southern India, sits on his eponymous red and black serpents, or naga. His interlocutor may be his disciple Aryadeva. A volume of the Perfection of Wisdom, honored with flowers, is on a golden bookstand between their heads. The figures sit beneath flowering and fruiting trees with peacocks and parrots, evoking the landscape of India. Lineage masters of the Sakya order of Buddhism are aligned in the top row, beginning with Virupa at the upper right. The monk who was the donor of this painting is in the lower left corner.
A vertically oriented tempera painting on worn cotton with a red background depicts two central, cross-legged figures, Nagarjuna and a Buddhist Master, with light skin tones. They wear red patterned robes and have dark halos, raising their right hands. Nagarjuna, on the left, is distinguished by green serpent heads. Smaller figures in red and blue border the top and bottom, and flank a central blue Buddha seated above. The surface shows significant cracking throughout.

Nagarjuna (c. 150–250 CE) with a Buddhist Master

c. 1300s

Nepal

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