Description
The seated Buddha dominating the composition is identified as Vairochana because of his hand gesture, the mudra communicating supreme enlightenment in which the index finger of one hand is grasped by the fingers of the opposite hand. His golden color and the tiny vajra—a six-pronged ritual object representing a thunderbolt—balanced on top of his finger suggest that he is in the guise of Vajrasattva, the summation of all enlightened beings. In his crown is the image of a monk, who is probably the guru of the donor, the small monastic figure at the lower right next to the lotus pedestal.
Provenance
(David Tremayne, Ltd., London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (?–1989); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1989–)
Accession Number
1989.104
Medium
gum tempera, ink, and gold on cloth
Dimensions
Overall: 111 x 73 cm (43 11/16 x 28 3/4 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund