Artwork Page for Thangka with the Seventh Bodhisattva

Details / Information for Thangka with the Seventh Bodhisattva

Thangka with the Seventh Bodhisattva

1368–1424

China, Ming dynasty

(1368–1644)
Medium
Silk and gold thread on silk satin ground, embroidery
Measurements
Overall: 43.8 x 19.5 cm (17 1/4 x 7 11/16 in.); Mounted: 56.8 x 31.8 cm (22 3/8 x 12 1/2 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1991.2
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

The bodhisattva is flanked by two columns, each topped with a makara, a fanciful water creature whose tail becomes lotus scrolls forming an arch over the bodhisattva.

Description

In remarkably pristine condition, this embroidery is from a dispersed set that included images of protectors and bodhisattvas. The embroidery technique and pictorial style are Chinese, but the subject matter and the type of devotional hanging called a thangka are associated with Tibetan Buddhism. Historical records state that during the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644), gifts of Buddhist art were sent from China to Tibet, since relationships between Chinese rulers and Tibetan monastic patriarchs were strong and amicable during this time. A Tibetan inscription on the back notes that this figure is the “seventh bodhisattva,” indicating the position in which it would have hung in a temple hall. Odd-numbered works were hung on one side of the main image, and even-numbered works on the other, counting from the center.
Rectangular, dark-blue textile hanging with, in the upper half, a person with red skin sitting facing us, cross-legged in blue and pink trousers, head tilted slightly. They are flanked by columns topped with makara, sea creatures whose tails transform into lotus flowers in an arch over the central person. Floral scrolls wind in the lower half with each section surrounded by red outlined borders with winding gold stitching within.

Thangka with the Seventh Bodhisattva

1368–1424

China, Ming dynasty (1368–1644)

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