Untitled

Unknown

late 18th century · Color on paper · Asian Art

This dancing goddess, perhaps intended to represent a perfected female being (dakini), honors the Buddhist wheel of wisdom (dharmachakra), which she holds in her right hand, flanked by golden fish and surmounted by a conch, symbols of auspiciousness. In her left she holds a lotus flower, which may relate her to the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. This sheet was part of a larger composition (now lost).

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 18th century

Medium

Color on paper

Culture

Eastern Tibet

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Fletcher Fund, 1938