Item: Shakyamuni Buddha - Life Story

Shakyamuni Buddha and Life Story is a Single Composition.

The life story narrative begins at the top right and proceeds in a clockwise manner around the composition to finish at the top left side. The composition of the painting is arranged in registers which are readily identified as horizontal red lines or bars. The bars are relatively thick and have just enough space to write one long line of Tibetan text. The text is divided into sections which immediately relate to the surrounding story. A single sentence or a brief phrase is used to contextualize the story located immediately above the inscription. The noteworthy life events are visually summarized into blocks of continuous narrative with repeated figures and iconic elements.

The central figure of Shakyamuni Buddha is accompanied by the two principal students Shariputra and Maudgalyayana.

A donor figure wearing monastic robes and a red hat is located at the bottom left corner. The donor is likely to belong to the Drugpa Kagyu Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism. The painting style is common for the southern and south-western Himalayas - popular with the Drugpa Kagyu Tradition. (See a painting set in a similar style. Note the torana (throne back) and treatment of floral motifs).

Jeff Watt 7-2013

Front of Painting
English Translation of Inscription: [Inscriptions for each of the narrative scenes]