Although early Tibetan art was predominantly oriented toward Indic cultures, Tibetan culture both influenced and absorbed successive Chinese artistic traditions. These connections were particularly close during periods when the emperor who ruled China adopted Tibetan Buddhism, invited Tibetan teachers to court, and sent art as gifts to major Tibetan monastic centers. Artistic dialogue was also sometimes catalyzed by third-party intermediaries who drew from both traditions simultaneously.
Hence Chinese imperial workshops adopted Tibetan Buddhist artistic conventions, and Tibet became a repository of Chinese art. These Chinese objects collected in Tibet gradually inspired Tibetan artists to adopt certain Chinese artistic conventions, such as landscape, into Tibetan painting.
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China
16th century
This exceptional Chinese lacquered-wood sculpture represents Vaishravana, an important wealth deity and guardian king of the northern direction who is popular in both Tibet and China. One of the major differences between Chinese and Indian deity depictions is the relative size of the animal, or vehicle, upon which the deity sits. In China these animal companions are sometimes larger than the deity itself, a feature that carries into some Tibetan representations that use Chinese models. In this sculpture Vaishravana, wearing an elaborate coat of mail, sits on a massive crouching lion. Their bodies are relaxed, but their facial expressions are fierce, signifying the potential for action.
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