Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Abbots of the Ngor Monastery
(India, Nepal, and Tibet)
The first two abbots of the Ngor Monastery in central Tibet, the older Sempa Chenpo and the younger Jamyang Sherab Gyatsho, engage in a lively conversation. They may be discussing the teachings of the "Hevajra Tantra": the wrathful deity Hevajra, united with his female partner, occupies the space between their flowered halos. Above Hevajra is the Buddha Vajradhara, the ultimate source of the tantra’s teachings, surrounded by members of the teaching lineage. The fifth figure on the left wears a red hat identical to that of the younger abbot at the center. He is Sakya Pandita, a prominent lama of the Sakya monastic tradition. When Ngor Monastery was founded in 1429, it became the center for a new branch of the Sakya lineage.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Stuart Perrin, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore, March 25 1984.
Exhibitions
| 2001-2003 | Desire and Devotion: Art from India, Nepal, and Tibet in the John and Berthe Ford Collection. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara; Albuquerque Museum, Albuquerque; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong. |
Geographies
Tibet (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Image H: 25 3/4 × W: 24 5/8 in. (65.41 × 62.5 cm); Framed H: 38 13/16 × W: 27 1/16 × D: 2 5/8 in. (98.6 × 68.7 × 6.7 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of John and Berthe Ford, 2022
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
35.331