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Tree of Divine Assembly

Eastern or Central Tibetan
dated 1796
Object Place: Tibet (Eastern or Central)

Medium/Technique Distemper and gold on cotton
Dimensions 79 x 48 cm (31 1/8 x 18 7/8 in.)
Credit Line Gift of Miss Elizabeth G. Houghton
Accession Number17.1683
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings

DescriptionPainting with decorative borders, mounted on support panel. Would have originally been in thangka format.

Shakyamuni Buddha (Tibetan: sha kya tu pa, sang gye. English: the Sage of the Shakya Clan, Enlightened One): surrounded by the lineage of incarnate Panchen Lamas above, meditational deities below, along with protectors and wealth deities - the Field for the Accumulation of Merit (Tib.: tsog shing). (Asha Kaufman, AAOA Intern 2010)

A huge fruit tree rises from the waters. At its center in a vibrant rainbow halo sits a golden image of the Buddha. Numerous esoteric Buddhist deities issue from the branches on lotus pedestals, surrounding him. In the clouds above appear monks of the Geluk order (called the "yellow hats"), lineage of the Dalai Lamas.
Provenance1917, Miss Elizabeth G. Houghton, Boston, MA; 1917, gift of Houghton to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 14, 1917)