012
The Teacher, Padmasambhava ("Lotus-Born") and His Eight Forms
Unfinished Thangka, painting
Cotton support with opaque mineral pigments in waterbased (collagen) binder
Size?
Central Tibet
Ca. 19th century
Menri Serma "New School of Men style"
Padmasambhava is attended by his consorts, Yeshe Sogyal and Mandarava, and
is surrounded by his eight forms. Above him are the Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
and the Buddha Amitabha, as well as Nyingma monks in their characteristic
red caps. These two objects illustrate two steps in the process of making
paintings from block print designs. First, to copy the design to a painting
support, the printed design is pricked with tiny holes and dusted over with
charcoal. Then the colors and linear details are filled in to finish the
painting.
Ariana Maki
Padmasambhava and His Eight Forms Essay
Museum #: 97.271
Huntington Archive Image Scan #: T1002