Untitled

Unidentified

11th century · Fragment; colors and black ink on paper · Asian Art

This painting depicts the personification of the wisdom text Prajnaparamita. She is represented in six-armed form, the central hands are held over the heart in a variation of the dharmacakramudra, whilst her upper hands display the sacred book (pustaka) and the thunderbolt scepter (vajra), whilst her lower hands hold a rosary (mala) and gesture boon granting. She wears golden jewelry on her body and a tripartite diadem adorns herhead, which is framed by a red halo. A girdle, seemingly of strings of pearls, secures her waistcloth, beautifully decorated with large red rosettes in blue hexagonal frames. Slender ribbons fly through the air, one supporting a blue lotus bloom and stem. She is seated in a mediation posture, enthroned on a golden lotus and she is encircled in a rainbow colored nimbus. Particularly noteworthy is the tonal modelling of the bodily forms, heightened with finely controlled orange-red lines. The swelling breasts and constricted waist are hallmarks of the Kashmir style.

Artist

Unidentified

Date

11th century

Medium

Fragment; colors and black ink on paper

Culture

Ancient Kingdom of Kashmir, India

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

Gift of Chino Franco Roncoroni, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2020