id: 157009 accession number: 1993.160 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1993.160 updated: 2023-03-14 12:01:50.936000 Portrait of Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170), 1200s. Central Tibet. Gilt bronze with gold, silver, copper, turquoise, lapis, and coral inlay; overall: 13.5 x 12 x 8.5 cm (5 5/16 x 4 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.); base: 8 x 19 x 14 cm (3 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1993.160 title: Portrait of Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170) title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1200s creation date earliest: 1200 creation date latest: 1299 current location: 237 Himalayan creditline: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund copyright: --- culture: Central Tibet technique: gilt bronze with gold, silver, copper, turquoise, lapis, and coral inlay department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art collection: Tibetan Art type: Sculpture find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 13.5 x 12 x 8.5 cm (5 5/16 x 4 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.); Base: 8 x 19 x 14 cm (3 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: / / Na mo 'ghu ru / / Ngan lam ban chung bdag gis ni / / bla ma Rin chen sku bzhengs pa yi / / bsod nams 'di yi byin brlabs kyis / / 'gro drug sdug sngal zad par shog / / Translation: "Salutations to the master ! May the sufferings of the six kinds of beings be appeased through the blessing of merit gained by me, the little monk of Ngan.lam, in having this statue of the Lama Rin.chen made." translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE (David Tremayne, Ltd., London, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) date: ?-1993 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1993- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: digital description: This portrait statue depicts the first monastic leader of the prominent Buddhist monastery of Densatil, an influential early leader of the Tibetan Buddhist monastic order called Kagyu, famous for his views on the importance of meditation. He sits on a lotus pedestal and lion throne, like a Buddha, and his hand positions (mudras) communicate that meditation leads to enlightenment. wall description: This portrait of the founder of a prominent Buddhist monastic order in Tibet was commissioned by one of his followers shortly after his death and is considered by scholars to be the earliest known image of this lineage master. His highly individualized features and patched monk's robes lend a humanizing aspect to his formal yogic posture, mudras, and the elaborate lotus pedestal and throne.

Auspicious symbols ornament the front of the top tier of the pedestal, which is draped in the middle with a luxurious textile. In the center, articulated in metal inlays of contrasting colors, are lions that flank a triad with the four-armed protector Mahakala, elephant-headed Ganesh, and a kneeling monk who is the patron of the sculpture. Female embodiments of enlightenment, known as Dakinis, are in flying postures on the lower tier.

The inscription on the back of the base states the patron's wish that the spiritual merit he accrued from commissioning this image of the "precious guru" be used to eradicate the sufferings of living beings. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS "1993 Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (1994): 143-218. page number: Reproduced: p. 157; Mentioned: p. 158 url: https://www.jstor.org/stable/25161457 Huntington, John C., Dina Bangdel, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 35, pp. 160-162 url: Rossi & Rossi Ltd, and Eti Bonn-Muller. Classical Selection 2014. London: Rossi & Rossi Ltd, 2014. page number: Mentioned: P. 42 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1993.160/1993.160_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1993.160/1993.160_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1993.160/1993.160_full.tif