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Arhat Pantaka
OriginChina or Tibet
Date17th - 18th century
Dimensions36 1/4 × 19 1/4 in.
MediumInk on silk
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2001.5.2
Himalayan Art Resources Number65016
Project Himalayan Arthttps://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/arhats-viewing-a-painting-of-birds-by-the-tenth-karmapa/
DescriptionPantaka is one of the sixteen arhats, the original disciples of the Buddha. The arhat painting genre found in Tibet was adopted from China and carried with it many aspects of Chinese visual culture. The medium—ink on silk—is itself Chinese. The painting employs a classic Chinese monochromatic ink style (shui mo hua) with a strong use of shading and ink wash. The figural style and landscape, punctuated with wet dots of ink (cun), depicted here are reminiscent of Chinese luohan (arhat) paintings by late Ming to early Qing painters like Ding Yunpeng (1547?–1628). This painting is related to a set kept at Palpung Monastery, in Kham on the southern Sino-Tibetan border, where they are known as the Kyarama Arhats, which translates as “Arhats Atop Rocks.”Not on view
16th century
late 19th or 20th century
1736–1795
18th - 19th century
Date unknown
17th century
17th - 18th century
19th century
19th century
19th century