Code: 11598
Dimensions:
A Tibetan Thangka Depicting an Incarnation of the Dali Llama (Probably Portraying the Sixth or Seventh Dali Llama)
Distemper on Paper
Tibet, Circa 18th/19th Century
Measures:-
38 cm high x 29 cm diameter
Provenance:-
Old Oxford Academic Collection
The painting shows a Dali Llama seated on a throne with peonies growing to either side and with various scholarly items arranged on the table before him - including a Tibetan Vajrayāna Buddhist 'ghanta' (handbell) and the distinctive symbolic bronze 'vajra'. In his left hand he is thumbing a Tibetan Buddhist rosary or 'japamala' (string of prayer beads). On his head he wears a distinctive yellow pandita hat with long lappets, indicating strict observance of the Gelug Tibetan Buddhist religious tradition. Placed upright, to his left, is a symbolic "khar gsil" or "khakkhara" ("sounding staff" or "pilgrim's staff") - with its distinctive rattling finial, depicted here with six loose metal rings, denoting the 'six perfections' (or 'pāramitās').
