Iconographic Drawing of a Rainmaking Mandala

Japan

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 223

This mandala is set in the watery realm of the Dragon Kings, guardian deities commonly associated with rain, the sea, and other bodies of water. Esoteric Buddhists used mandalas with similar imagery as focuses of rainmaking rituals to prevent drought. Although no known polychrome or highly finished versions of this type of mandala survive, evidence shows that they were in use by the 900s.

On view for rotations 1 and 2

Iconographic Drawing of a Rainmaking Mandala, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan

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painting

Iconographic Drawing of a Rainmaking Mandala, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan
Iconographic Drawing of a Rainmaking Mandala, Hanging scroll; ink on paper, Japan

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