Artwork Details

Title
Red Avalokiteshvara or Bunga Dya
Dimensions
34 1/8 × 27 1/8 in. (estimated)
Medium
Pigments on cloth
Origin
Nepal
Classification(s)
scroll painting paintings
Date
Dated by inscription, 1818
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, gift of the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation
Object number
F1998.3.13
Currently On View
at Frank Museum of Art, traveling exhibition Gateway to Himalayan Art, until December 12, 2024
Bibliography
HAR Number
100038
Published references
  • Gautamavajra Vajracarya, Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual (Rubin Museum of Art, 2016), 24, 26, 60, 62, 64, 93, 191, fn. 199, cat. 14.
  • Gudrun Buhnemann and Kasinatha Tamota, The Life of the Buddha: Buddhist and Saiva Iconography and Visual Narratives in Artists’ Sketchbooks from Nepal (Lumbini International Research Institute, 2012), 87, pl. 1.

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Compassion

Concepts

The cultivation of a strong aspiration to help sentient beings overcome suffering. In Buddhist Mahayana teaching, compassion is the seed for attaining full enlightenment.  

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Ritual

Concepts

Prescribed practices that carry symbolic meaning and value within a specific tradition and are intended to attain a desired outcome. Rituals are usually done as part of a ceremony or regular routine.

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Power

Concepts

A kind of energy that can be used, individually and collectively, to effect change.

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Bodhisattvas

Figure Type

Beings who aspire to become fully awakened like the Buddha and are dedicated to helping others on the path to enlightenment.

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Nepalese Regions

Region

The Himalayan kingdoms of the Kathmandu Valley were significant centers of Buddhist culture. Nepalese kings, Buddhist institutions, and ordinary people patronized the vibrant art guilds. The artistic traditions of the regions are well-known in Tibetan areas and beyond, and Newar artists have always been in high demand throughout Tibetan regions and Inner Asia.

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