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Usnisa Caitya with Five Dhyani Buddhas

Nepalese
early 18th century
Object Place: Nepal

Medium/Technique Distemper on cotton
Dimensions Overall: 52.7 x 69.7cm (20 3/4 x 27 7/16in.)
Credit Line Gift of Edward Waldo Forbes
Accession Number07.303
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAsia
ClassificationsPaintings

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

The stupa (Buddhist reliquary monument) in the center of the mandala shows the goddess Ushnishavijaya (an emanation of Buddha mind and connected with long life) in its dome. Around the stupa sit various buddhas and other deities. The stupa rests on a huge lotus that grows out of the cosmic ocean.
Provenance1907, Edward W. Forbes, Cambridge, MA; 1907, gift of Forbes to the MFA. (Accession Date: July 11, 1907)