Artwork Page for Taima Mandala

Details / Information for Taima Mandala

Taima Mandala

当麻曼荼羅図

early 1300s

Japan, Kamakura period

(1185–1333)
Medium
hanging scroll; ink, color, and gold on silk
Measurements
Painting: 135.6 x 140.3 cm (53 3/8 x 55 1/4 in.); Mounted: 170.5 x 203.2 cm (67 1/8 x 80 in.)
Credit Line
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 1990.82
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

This painting is a copy after an 8th-century woven mandala belonging to the temple Taimadera. The composition is based on a sacred text that describes the Buddha Shakyamuni’s explanation of Amida’s Pure Land to Queen Vaidehi, as well as his instructions to her on visual meditation upon the Pure Land. The Pure Land appears at the center of the painting. To the left is the story of Queen Vaidehi’s encounter with Shakyamuni, and to the right are the scenes she is given to visualize. The bottom illustrates the nine levels of birth that can be attained in the Pure Land.
A square ink and color painting on silk depicts a sprawling celestial court. Centrally, a golden figure sits surrounded by smaller attendants, symmetrical multi-tiered palaces, and a lotus pond. Narrow borders on the left, right, and bottom are divided into small rectangular panels of various figures and landscapes. Above, swirling clouds filled with tiny figures sweep across a shadowy sky. The overall surface appears worn and darkened with age.

Taima Mandala

early 1300s

Japan, Kamakura period (1185–1333)

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