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These conventions for depicting elders are said to have come to Tibet from China. Tibetan sets of paintings often depict sixteen or eighteen arhats wearing Chinese style monks’ robes. This painting was probably part of a series of similarly composed five paintings.
Five Arhats: Ajita, Kalika, Vanavasin, Vajriputra, Bhadra
OriginTibet
Date18th century
Dimensions56 1/2 x 30 3/8 x 1/2 in. (143.5 x 77.2 x 1.3 cm)
MediumPigments on cloth
Classification(s)
Credit LineRubin Museum of Art, Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation
Object numberF1998.10.3
Himalayan Art Resources Number640
DescriptionArhats are persons who liberated themselves from the cycle of existence, including the original disciples of the Buddha whom he taught after his awakening, when he turned the Wheel of the Dharma. Their monastic practice, study, and moral code represent the path of early Buddhism. They are usually depicted as monks with specific attributes that help identify them. In this painting at the center is the Elder Ajita. Four other elders and attendants surround him. At the upper right is Kalika, at the upper left is Vanavasin, at the lower left is Vajriputra, and at the lower right is Bhadra.These conventions for depicting elders are said to have come to Tibet from China. Tibetan sets of paintings often depict sixteen or eighteen arhats wearing Chinese style monks’ robes. This painting was probably part of a series of similarly composed five paintings.
Not on view
Date unknown
Dated by inscription 1775
17th - 18th century
16th century
late 19th or 20th century
1736–1795
18th - 19th century
17th century
Dated 1898
ca. second quarter of 15th century