Acala detail, Tibetan - Cover of a Buddhist Manuscript - Walters W896 ...
The central panel depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenment. On our left is the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his "Six Syllable" form ("Hail jewel lotus!"), the words of a spell come aliv... More
Art of Tibet detail, Bodhisattva as the personification of the text of...
This is a leaf from a "Prajnaparamita" (Perfection of Wisdom) manuscript. The text, written in Tibetan language and script, is a translation of a Sanskrit text that was produced in India as much as a thousand y... More
Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his "Six Syllable" form ("Hail jewel lo...
The central panel depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenment. On our left is the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his "Six Syllable" form ("Hail jewel lotus!"), the words of a spell come aliv... More
Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenment at Bodhgaya. The t...
This is a leaf from a "Prajnaparamita" (Perfection of Wisdom) manuscript. The text, written in Tibetan language and script, is a translation of a Sanskrit text that was produced in India as much as a thousand y... More
Center panel of the Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenmen...
The central panel depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenment. On our left is the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his "Six Syllable" form ("Hail jewel lotus!"), the words of a spell come aliv... More
Chinese - Mandala with the Buddha and Bodhisattvas - Walters 3592
In the center of this piece is an inscription in Manchu script. Each figure has an inscription in Chinese and another language with larger side panels the same. The Chinese inscription to the right of the Buddh... More
Chinese - Manuscript Cover with Lhamo Flanked by Four Goddesses - Walt...
Each figure in this painting is under an elaborate arch with inscriptions in both Mongolian and Chinese. At the far right is an inscription in Chinese providing the title of the manuscript, Sutra of Ten-Thousa... More
Chinese - Sarasvati - Walters 35292 - Detail
Sarasvati is a Hindu goddess, adopted as a goddess of learning and the performing arts by Buddhists. Here, she sits on a lotus rising from the water and plays a central Asian lute-not a "vina," as would be the ... More
Chinese - Sarasvati - Walters 35292. Painting, 15th century
Sarasvati is a Hindu goddess, adopted as a goddess of learning and the performing arts by Buddhists. Here, she sits on a lotus rising from the water and plays a central Asian lute-not a "vina," as would be the ... More
Left art detail, from- Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni and Prajnaparamita ...
This is a leaf from a "Prajnaparamita" (Perfection of Wisdom) manuscript. The text, written in Tibetan language and script, is a translation of a Sanskrit text that was produced in India as much as a thousand y... More
Right art detail, from- Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni and Prajnaparamita...
This is a leaf from a "Prajnaparamita" (Perfection of Wisdom) manuscript. The text, written in Tibetan language and script, is a translation of a Sanskrit text that was produced in India as much as a thousand y... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299 - Bottom
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299 - Left Side
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299 - Reverse
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299 - Right Side
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299 - Three Quarter
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299 - Top
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - A Ritual Box - Walters 572299
The surfaces of this silver and gilt box are richly embellished with symbols and mantras associated with the destruction of malevolent spirits. On the front is a symbolic representation of the protective female... More
Tibetan - Ascetic Master - Walters 543009
The inscription on the back is problematic and does not provide sufficient information to identify this figure. Therefore, the date of the portrait suggested here is based entirely on stylistic considerations. ... More
Tibetan - Bodhisattva Manjushri - Walters 543015 (2)
Jauntily thrusting out his right hip, this handsome, smiling bodhisattva exemplifies a path to Buddhahood. Features that tie the figure to works generally thought to have been made in Western Tibet include the ... More
Tibetan - Bodhisattva Manjushri - Walters 543015
Jauntily thrusting out his right hip, this handsome, smiling bodhisattva exemplifies a path to Buddhahood. Features that tie the figure to works generally thought to have been made in Western Tibet include the ... More
Tibetan - Buddha - Walters 53179
A part of the short inscription on this image suggests that it represents one of the cosmic Buddhas, Akshobhya ("imperturbable"), sometimes assigned to the east, sometimes to the central position. The early tra... More
Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni - Walters 543082 - Three Quarter
Around the year 1000, it became common in Pala India to depict the Buddha Shakyamuni with a crown on his head to indicate that at the time of his enlightenment he was crowned by cosmic Buddhas. This belief was ... More
Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni and Prajnaparamita - Walters W8561 (2)
This is a leaf from a "Prajnaparamita" (Perfection of Wisdom) manuscript. The text, written in Tibetan language and script, is a translation of a Sanskrit text that was produced in India as much as a thousand y... More
Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni and Prajnaparamita - Walters W8561
This is a leaf from a "Prajnaparamita" (Perfection of Wisdom) manuscript. The text, written in Tibetan language and script, is a translation of a Sanskrit text that was produced in India as much as a thousand y... More
Tibetan - Buddha Shakyamuni with "Jataka" Tales - Walters 35140
The Buddha Shakyamuni, who lived in the 6th-5th century BC, is here shown telling stories of his previous existences, all of which he remembered and many of which he related to his disciples. At left, for insta... More
Tibetan - Cover of a Buddhist Manuscript - Walters W896 - Top (cropped...
The central panel depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenment. On our left is the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his "Six Syllable" form ("Hail jewel lotus!"), the words of a spell come aliv... More
Tibetan - Cover of a Buddhist Manuscript - Walters W896 - Top
The central panel depicts the Buddha Shakyamuni on the night of his enlightenment. On our left is the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in his "Six Syllable" form ("Hail jewel lotus!"), the words of a spell come aliv... More
Tibetan - Hand Drum - Walters 73144
Sound is essential for Tibetan liturgy and ritual, and the damaru is one important source. Held by the right hand, it symbolizes the means (compassion) while the bell in the left hand symbolizes wisdom. The dru... More
Tibetan - Identification Deity Vajrabhairava with Retinue - Walters 35...
The identification deity Vajrabhairava conquers death and is an aspect of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Manjusri (whose head is his crowning head). He masters a buffalo demon, who stands for ignorance, and has inc... More
Tibetan - Mahasiddha Ghantapa and the Great Flood - Walters 35303 (2)
The legendary Buddhist sage (mahasiddha) Ghantapa created a flood in order to teach a lesson to a king. But the flood threatened the lives of innocent bystanders, and so Ghantapa told them to pray to Avalokites... More
Tibetan - Mahasiddha Ghantapa and the Great Flood - Walters 35303
The legendary Buddhist sage (mahasiddha) Ghantapa created a flood in order to teach a lesson to a king. But the flood threatened the lives of innocent bystanders, and so Ghantapa told them to pray to Avalokites... More
Tibetan - Manjushri and a Bodhisattva with Donors - Walters W8562
NaN Public domain reproduction of illuminated medieval manuscript page, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Tibetan - Phurbu-cum-chopper - Walters 511448 - View A
This unique and exquisitely crafted ritual object combines the Tibetan dagger with the curved chopper. Animating the dagger is the power of the three deities whose faces (one with a horse's head above it) appea... More
Tibetan - Portable Prayer Wheel - Walters 572285 - Profile
Just as the Buddha symbolically turned the wheel of the Law when he preached his first sermon and taught the way to enlightenment at Sarnath, India, so pious Tibetan Buddhists literally rotate a wheel to earn t... More
Tibetan - Ritual Dagger - Walters 52311 (2)
Originally the "phur-bu" was probably a simple peg used to secure tent ropes to the ground. No doubt the ability of the peg to pierce gave rise to the expression, "kilaya kilaya," (pierce, pierce) often a compo... More
Tibetan - Ritual Dagger - Walters 52311
Originally the "phur-bu" was probably a simple peg used to secure tent ropes to the ground. No doubt the ability of the peg to pierce gave rise to the expression, "kilaya kilaya," (pierce, pierce) often a compo... More
Tibetan - Transcendental Buddha Vajrasatva - Walters 543014 - View A
Literally, the Sanskrit expression "vajrasatva" means "thunderbolt or diamantine (also adamantine) essence," of which Vajrasattva is clearly the embodiment. As an important archetypal deity, Vajrasattva is rega... More
Tibetan - Transcendental Buddha Vajrasatva - Walters 543014
Literally, the Sanskrit expression "vajrasatva" means "thunderbolt or diamantine (also adamantine) essence," of which Vajrasattva is clearly the embodiment. As an important archetypal deity, Vajrasattva is rega... More
Tibetan book, Manjushri and a Bodhisattva with Donors and horse - Walt...
NaN Public domain reproduction of illuminated medieval manuscript page, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Tibetan book, Manjushri detail - Walters W8562 (2) (cropped)
NaN Public domain reproduction of illuminated medieval manuscript page, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description
Tibetan or Chinese origin, 18th century embroidery Tibetan Buddhist ar...
The setting, with beasts and floating skulls in a desolate landscape, focuses the mind of the meditator (or the initiate in a ceremony) upon mortality, and hence upon the eternal. Within the circle is a view of... More
Tsapa Namgyal - The Teacher and Philosopher Nagarjuna - Walters 543008
This image was commissioned by a senior monk ("lochen"), and it was made by Tsapa Namgyal, whom the inscription may characterize as an assistant sculptor. The artist is otherwise unknown, nor do we know who the... More