Pantheon of Buddhas

Artist

Chinese (Chinese)

Date

18th century

Medium

Pigments on cloth

Dimensions

Image : 32 3/4 x 20 3/4 in. (83.19 x 52.71 cm)
Frame : 34 5/8 x 22 3/4 in. (87.95 x 57.78 cm)

Credit Line

Hope College Collection

Object Number

2015.46.2

Label

This painting was made in China for the Tibetan market. The central figure in the image is Amitabha Buddha, a celestial Buddha revered for his spiritual discipline and deep discernment of the essentially empty nature of material desire. Amitabha is surrounded by one hundred other Buddhas who represent the cosmic reach of the Buddhist faith. The painting may once have belonged to a set of five images of different celestial Buddhas that would have been arranged in a Tibetan Buddhist temple to define a sacred space used for ritual, prayer and meditation.