Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Shakyamuni Buddha - with Sixteen Elders (Arhats)

ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ། 释迦牟尼佛
(item no. 90306)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1500 - 1599
Lineages Buddhist
Material Ground Mineral Pigment, Raised Gold on Cotton
Collection Robert and Lois Baylis
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Person

Appearance: Buddha

Gender: Male

Interpretation / Description

Shakyamuni Buddha (Tibetan: sha kya tu pa, sang gye, English: the Enlightened One of the Shakya Clan) surrounded by buddhas above, arhats at the sides and the Four Guardian Kings at the bottom.

The Buddha and Sixteen Great Arhats are generally painted as a set. The full group would include the Buddha Shakyamuni, the 16 arhats, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang and the Four Guardians of the Directions - Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka.

Jeff Watt 4-2000

Related Items
Thematic Sets
Shakyamuni Buddha: Main Page
Collection of Robert & Lois Baylis
Arhat/Sthavira: Study Guide
Shakyamuni Buddha & the Sixteen Elders (Single Composition)
Shakyamuni Buddha: Early Paintings
Arhat: Dharmata (Early Art)