Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Arhat/Sthavira (Buddhist Elder) - 16 Elders: Ajita

གནས་བརྟན། 罗汉
(item no. 122)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1500 - 1599
Lineages Sakya and Buddhist
Size 91.44x58.42cm (36x23in)
Material Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Catalogue # acc.# F1997.9.2
Painting School Khyenri
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Person

Appearance: Arhat

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Arhat: wearing the robes of a fully ordained monk and a white cloth over the head, he sits in meditation posture with the hands folded in the lap. The Arhat Ajita typically wears a head covering.

At the right side is the mahasiddha Vinapa, in the typical dress of an Indian, holding a vina - stringed instrument, in the lap. At the right is a dark-skinned mahasiddha wearing bone ornaments and a tiger skin skirt. At the top left is the buddha Shuradatta and on the right Brahma. Both Buddhas are from the set of Thirty-five Confession Buddhas.

This example of a single arhat composition (HAR 122) from a set of twenty-three paintings and the painting HAR 640 depicting five arhats per composition are stylistically the same and were possibly created by the same artist or workshop.

Jeff Watt 9-2000

Related Items
Publications
Publication: Worlds of Transformation

Thematic Sets
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Painting Gallery 2
Arhat/Sthavira - 16 Elders: Ajita (Masterworks)
Arhat/Sthavira: Painting Masterworks (Miscellaneous)
Arhat/Sthavira: Ajita Main Page
Painting Set: Arhats: Single Main Figure
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Arhat/Sthavira
Collection of RMA: Best of Collection 2
Collection of RMA: Persons Masterworks
Subject: Patchwork Robes
Arhat/Sthavira: Painting (Bird Examples)
Painting Tradition: Khyenri Main Page
Painting Set: Arhat Set: XXXIV
Painting Style: Khyenri Arhat Sets
Subject: Elders with Beards
Artist: Khyentse Chenmo