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Tibetan paintings are often created in sets, where a single theme is distributed among a number of canvases. This painting belongs to a set presenting the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, a group of Buddhist deities that represent Mahayana teachings. While the theme of this set is standard, these paintings are very unusual. They do not follow textual descriptions or other standard Tibetan visual conventions.
We know a great deal about the creation of this set thanks to the detailed diaries of its patron, the great scholar and artist Situ Panchen (1700–1772). In 1732 he engaged the painter Trinle Rabphel of Karsho, a region in Kham Province, eastern Tibet, famous for artists. Situ had him trace an older painting by the great sixteenth-century artist Konchok Phende. These tracings were then painted by a group of artists from Karsho at Situ’s request.
Vajrapani (From Situ's set of Eight Great Bodhisattvas)
OriginKham Province, Eastern Tibet
Date19th century
Dimensions41 3/4 x 21 1/2 x 1/2 in. (106 x 54.6 x 1.3 cm)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Object numberF1997.40.5
Himalayan Art Resources Number586
DescriptionVajrapani, or “Vajra Holder,” is seated in a relaxed pose holding up his identifying attribute, a vajra scepter. His princely jewelry is simple and restrained. The spiraling flourish at the end of his robe elegantly echoes the holes in the rocky landscape.Tibetan paintings are often created in sets, where a single theme is distributed among a number of canvases. This painting belongs to a set presenting the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, a group of Buddhist deities that represent Mahayana teachings. While the theme of this set is standard, these paintings are very unusual. They do not follow textual descriptions or other standard Tibetan visual conventions.
We know a great deal about the creation of this set thanks to the detailed diaries of its patron, the great scholar and artist Situ Panchen (1700–1772). In 1732 he engaged the painter Trinle Rabphel of Karsho, a region in Kham Province, eastern Tibet, famous for artists. Situ had him trace an older painting by the great sixteenth-century artist Konchok Phende. These tracings were then painted by a group of artists from Karsho at Situ’s request.
Not on view
late 18th century, ca. 1760s
16th century
15th century
late 19th or 20th century
1429-1456
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