Item: Tara (Buddhist Deity) - Green
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1200 - 1299 |
| Lineages | Buddhist |
| Size | 46.50cm (18.31in) high |
| Material | Metal, Silver Inlay, Stone Inset: Coral, Turquoise |
| Collection | Rubin Museum of Art |
Classification: Deity
Appearance: Peaceful
Gender: Female
Tara, Green (Tibetan: drol ma jang ku. English: the Green Liberator, or Saviouress).
Tibetan: Drol ma jang ku
Matrix of all the Enlightened Ones: wisdom itself is personified in the female form, which represents the potential for life and for enlightenment--the matrix that fosters change, transcendence, and even complete buddhahood.
With a smiling face and beautiful to behold, the female form described in Indian literature and seen in classical temple art is the model for female deities and mother goddesses worshiped throughout the Himalayas. They appear with long narrow eyes below thin eyebrows, long hair arranged atop the head with some falling loose across the shoulders, narrow waist, seated in a leisurely posture, often with one leg extended forward. With these shared characteristics, the only distinguishing features between the beatific female deities of Buddhism, Hinduism, and Bon are their hand attributes, body color, and overall composition.
Tara is a completely enlightened buddha and having promised to appear in the form of a female bodhisattva and goddess for the benefit of all beings she especially protects from the eight fears. Practiced in all Schools of Tibetan Buddhism Tara is second in popularity only to Avalokiteshvara. Her practices are found in all classes of tantra - Old (Nyingma) and New (Sarma).
Jeff Watt 4-2005
Exhibition: Female Buddhas at RMA
Publications
Glossary: Postures in Iconography
Publication: Selection of Works - Sculpture (RMA)
Thematic Sets
Collection of RMA: Best of Collection (Sculpture)
Index: Female Figures, Deities & Names
Buddhist Deity: Tara, Green (Sculpture Masterworks)
Buddhist Deity: Tara Videos
Buddhist Deity: Tara, Green (Best Examples, Sculpture)
Buddhist Deity: Tara, Green (Tibet, Sculpture Masterworks)
Buddhist Deity: Tara, Sculpture (Masterworks, Miscellaneous)
Sculpture: Monastic Period (Tibet, 13-14th century)
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Sculpture (Gallery 1)
Buddhist Deity: Tara Source Texts
Buddhist Deity: Tara, Green Main Page
Collection of RMA: Selected Sculpture
Collection of Jourdan-Barry
Sculpture: Monastic Period (Tara)
Sculpture: Monastic Period (Peaceful Deity Figures)
Sculpture: Monastic Period (Masterworks)