Portrait of a lama (teacher) c. 16th century
anonymous
3d sculpting
rounded shape
stone
sculpture
bronze
sculptural image
unrealistic statue
3d shape
vertical object
structured
statue
This small bronze sculpture depicts a seated lama, or teacher, in the style of Tibetan Buddhist art. The work is likely from the 16th century and is an example of a small-scale devotional object that would have been used for private worship. The lama is shown in a seated posture, with his hands in a gesture of meditation. The sculpture is now part of the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Art.
Comments
In Tibetan Buddhism, monastic sects developed around the concept of a spiritual hero, or arhat, who demonstrated modes of following the path of the Buddha in new, and often legendary, ways. Knowledge was transmitted through a succession of lamas (teachers), appointed with the belief that the future leader was the reincarnation of the former. Many arhats or lamas were visualized and venerated in a manner similar to bodhisattvas and the historical Shakyamuni Buddha himself.
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