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The distinctive palette—deep, blue-purple hues against a gray-blue background accented with subtle pink elements—is found in paintings from the northeastern Tibetan region of Amdo. The Bon religion flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in southern Amdo and neighboring northern Kham Province. The two disciples who flank the central figure provide an even more specific geographic context for this painting. They are both closely associated with the Gyelrong region, an important Bon cultural center on the eastern border of Amdo and Kham.
Bon Lama Sanggye Lingpa (1705-1735)
OriginGyelrong, Eastern Tibet
Date19th century
Dimensions39 x 26 1/4 in. (99.1 x 66.7 cm)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of Shelley and Donald Rubin
Object numberC2006.66.598
Himalayan Art Resources Number200002
Project Himalayan Arthttps://projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/related/bon-lama-sanggye-lingpa-1705-1735/
DescriptionSanggye Lingpa represents the syncretic New Bon movement that sought to integrate Bon, Tibet’s indigenous religion, and Buddhism. He wears a yellow hat that includes important symbols of both traditions: a yungdrung, the representative symbol of Bon, emblazoned on the front and a Tibetan Buddhist vajra on the top. While many of the surrounding deities are specifically affiliated with Bon, some are present in Buddhist traditions as well. For instance, Kuntu Zangpo at the top center is integral to Bon, while Purpa Drukse Chempa, depicted directly above Sanggye Lingpa, is central to Nyingma practices of Tibetan Buddhism.The distinctive palette—deep, blue-purple hues against a gray-blue background accented with subtle pink elements—is found in paintings from the northeastern Tibetan region of Amdo. The Bon religion flourished in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in southern Amdo and neighboring northern Kham Province. The two disciples who flank the central figure provide an even more specific geographic context for this painting. They are both closely associated with the Gyelrong region, an important Bon cultural center on the eastern border of Amdo and Kham.
Not on view
19th century
19th century
15th century
18th century
19th century
20th century
19th century
1580s-1590s
18th - 19th century
16th century