On loan to The Met The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Mahasiddha Padampa Sangye
Padampa Sangye (d. 1117) was a tantric adept from south India. As a youth, he went to study in eastern India at the great Vikramashila monastery, where he was ordained. Thereafter, he left the monastic life behind to travel widely throughout India, Tibet, and China, where he practiced austerities and instructed pupils. Padampa Sangye’s south Indian origins are suggested in this painting by his dark complexion and nakedness, common among ascetics in India but less so on the frigid Tibetan plateau. The antelope hide he uses as a mat and the bone trumpet he holds allude to his yogic practices.
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