The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 13, 2025

Temple Banner with Pilgrimage Sites and Scenes from the Svayambhu-purana (Ancient Text of the Primordial Buddha)

1635

Nepal, Kathmandu Valley

Gum tempera and gold on cotton
Overall: 39 x 130.2 cm (15 3/8 x 51 1/4 in.)
Gift of Mrs. A. S. Ingalls 1954.788
Location: Not on view

Description

In the upper band, pilgrimage places in and around Nepal’s capital of Kathmandu are mapped and labeled with inscriptions in the Newari language. Below are scenes from the story of a king who ended a drought with the assistance of serpent deities and a Buddhist master. The king rides horseback at the lower left, and the serpent deities are the seated human figures with snake heads behind them. The white vase-shaped monument with pointed top, shown three times, is the Svayambhu Stupa, a sacred monument in Kathmandu dedicated to the Buddha Svayambhu.

Probably half of a complete banner, this piece hung in a monastic courtyard during annual festivals.
  • ?–1954
    Mrs. A. S. [Jane Taft] Ingalls [1874–1962], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1954–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Slusser, Mary Shepherd. “Serpents, Sages, and Sorcerers in Cleveland.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 66, no. 2, 1979, pp. 67–82. Mentioned and Reproduced: figs. 1, 2, 13-18 25159618
  • Dharma and Pūnya: Buddhist Ritual Art of Nepal. Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Art Gallery, Worcester, MA (organizer) (September 5-December 20, 2019).
    Art of Nepal. The Asia Society Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (May 7-August 30, 1964).
  • {{cite web|title=Temple Banner with Pilgrimage Sites and Scenes from the Svayambhu-purana (Ancient Text of the Primordial Buddha)|url=false|author=|year=1635|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.788