GENERAL DESCRIPTION
At the center of this detailed 18th-century thangka is the wrathful goddess, or dharmapala, Palden Lhamo. An important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, Palden Lhamo is one of eight dharmapala, the wrathful deities whose task it is to protect the practice of Buddhism and avert both inner and outer obstacles on the path to enlightenment.
Palden Lhamo's terrifying face, hair of fire, bracelets of poison snakes, and other frightening attributes demonstrate that she conquers all danger. The wrathful goddess rides above an ocean of blood, indicating her ability to transcend the cycle of birth and death; she has reached enlightenment. The thangka is crowded with the many goddesses who function as heroic generals in Palden Lhamo's mystical army. The goddess's many powerful attributes and large retinue indicate her complete power to remove or transform obstacles that Buddhist practitioners may confront on the path to enlightenment.
Adapted from
- Robert Warren Clark, "Palden Lhamo," in The Arts of India, South East Asia, and the Himalayas, Anne R. Bromberg (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 181.
NOTES
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Tibetan Buddhism: AAT: 300265647
Geography
Tibet: TGN: 7001319
Process/materials
cloth: AAT: 300162391
gouache (paint): AAT: 300070114
painting (visual works): AAT: 300033618
Historical periods
eighteenth century: AAT: 300404512
Individuals
Subject terms
blood: AAT: 300011797
dharma: AAT: 300264384
Dharmapalas: DMA
enlightenment (religious concept): AAT: 300404722
fear: AAT: 300055160
fire (physical concept): AAT: 300417275
power: AAT: 300374809
protection: AAT: 300164923
samsara: AAT: 300264365
serpents (snakes/Serpentes suborder): AAT: 300250870
Tantrism: AAT: 300143658
Thangka: AAT: 300236487
Tibet: TGN: 7001319
Tibetan Buddhism: AAT: 300265647
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
By 2005: Doris Weiner Gallery, LLC, New York
2005: Dallas Museum of Art, Wendover Fund purchase from above
The main source for this provenance is the acquisition checklist dated September 28, 2005, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
Tibetan Art at the DMA: Gallery talk by Lindsay O'Connor, Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs
Tibetan Art at the DMA: Gallery talk by Lindsay O'Connor, Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs
282324004: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 2005.48
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
At the center of this detailed 18th-century thangka is the wrathful goddess, or dharmapala, Palden Lhamo. An important figure in Tibetan Buddhism, Palden Lhamo is one of eight dharmapala, the wrathful deities whose task it is to protect the practice of Buddhism and avert both inner and outer obstacles on the path to enlightenment.
Palden Lhamo's terrifying face, hair of fire, bracelets of poison snakes, and other frightening attributes demonstrate that she conquers all danger. The wrathful goddess rides above an ocean of blood, indicating her ability to transcend the cycle of birth and death; she has reached enlightenment. The thangka is crowded with the many goddesses who function as heroic generals in Palden Lhamo's mystical army. The goddess's many powerful attributes and large retinue indicate her complete power to remove or transform obstacles that Buddhist practitioners may confront on the path to enlightenment.
Adapted from
- Robert Warren Clark, "Palden Lhamo," in The Arts of India, South East Asia, and the Himalayas, Anne R. Bromberg (Dallas: Dallas Museum of Art; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 181.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Catalogue essays
Artist/designers
Cultures
Tibetan Buddhism: AAT: 300265647
Geography
Tibet: TGN: 7001319
Process/materials
cloth: AAT: 300162391
gouache (paint): AAT: 300070114
painting (visual works): AAT: 300033618
Historical periods
eighteenth century: AAT: 300404512
Individuals
Subject terms
blood: AAT: 300011797
dharma: AAT: 300264384
Dharmapalas: DMA
enlightenment (religious concept): AAT: 300404722
fear: AAT: 300055160
fire (physical concept): AAT: 300417275
power: AAT: 300374809
protection: AAT: 300164923
samsara: AAT: 300264365
serpents (snakes/Serpentes suborder): AAT: 300250870
Tantrism: AAT: 300143658
Thangka: AAT: 300236487
Tibet: TGN: 7001319
Tibetan Buddhism: AAT: 300265647
RELATED OBJECTS
PROVENANCE
By 2005: Doris Weiner Gallery, LLC, New York
2005: Dallas Museum of Art, Wendover Fund purchase from above
The main source for this provenance is the acquisition checklist dated September 28, 2005, copy in Dallas Museum of Art Collections Records object file.
AUDIO ASSETS
Tibetan Art at the DMA: Gallery talk by Lindsay O'Connor, Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs
Tibetan Art at the DMA: Gallery talk by Lindsay O'Connor, Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs
282324004: UMO
VIDEO ASSETS
rules
Apply To
Objects
number
Equals
2005.48
source file
object_notes_2_b-0335.xml.nores