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Photograph by Bruce M. White, Rubin Museum of Art, 2008
The Demoness of Tibet
Photograph by Bruce M. White, Rubin Museum of Art, 2008
Photograph by Bruce M. White, Rubin Museum of Art, 2008

The Demoness of Tibet

OriginTibet
DateEarly 20th century
Dimensions16 3/8 × 24 3/4 in. (estimated)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art
Object numberC2006.1.1
Himalayan Art Resources Number65719
Project Himalayan Arthttps://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/portrait-of-ngadak-puntsok-rigdzin/, https://rubinmuseum.org/projecthimalayanart/essays/jokhang-temple-lhasa/
DescriptionThis map illustrates a popular Tibetan mytho-historical narrative. Tibet is represented by a collection of Buddhist monuments that were constructed in strategic locations to pin down and tame a demoness who interfered with the establishment of Buddhism in the seventh century. The demoness is set in a heavenly landscape with her supine figure stretched between cosmic mountain ranges. Lhasa and its central temple, the Jokhang, are positioned at the heart of the demoness, which actively establishes Lhasa as the heart and center of Tibet. This temple-founding narrative promotes political and social order concentrated in the capital of Lhasa and its major Buddhist institutions.