Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes of His Previous Lives (Jataka Tales)

Tibet

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 253

This painting depicts a rare subject in Tibetan art, the life of Buddha Shakyamuni and his previous incarnations as told in the Jataka tales. These stories form an essential component of the Buddhist cosmology. This thangka has a Chinese inscription dating the work to the reign of the Wanli emperor (r. 1573–1619) of the Ming dynasty as well as Tibetan glosses identifying the scenes depicted. The presence of the glosses indicates that this thangka was made for a Tibetan client. Depicted around the central icon of a radiant Buddha is a series of scenes, each with mountains and monastic buildings serving as scene dividers. Both Jatakas depicted recount the bodhisattva’s self-sacrifice.

Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes of His Previous Lives (Jataka Tales), Distemper on cloth, Tibet

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Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes of His Previous Lives (Jataka Tales), Distemper on cloth, Tibet
Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes of His Previous Lives (Jataka Tales), Distemper on cloth, Tibet
Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes of His Previous Lives (Jataka Tales), Distemper on cloth, Tibet

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