Seated Tara
Asian Art
On View: Asian Galleries, Southwest, 2nd floor
This image of Green Tara was made roughly one hundred years after the standing Tara shown nearby. Her seated posture, with one leg dangling from her throne to suggest ease and accessibility, would become the norm for images of Green Tara in India and the Himalayas. The inscription above her head, in a form of Sanskrit, asks the viewer to remember the dharma, or Buddhist teachings, as they are embodied in the goddess.
MEDIUM
Black schist
DATES
9th century
DYNASTY
Pala Dynasty
PERIOD
Pala Period
DIMENSIONS
30 1/4 x 15 3/4 x 7 3/4 in., 181 lb. (76.8 x 40 x 19.7 cm, 82.1kg)
mount (overall): 30 × 17 1/2 × 8 in. (76.2 × 44.5 × 20.3 cm) (show scale)
COLLECTIONS
Asian Art
ACCESSION NUMBER
1995.136
CREDIT LINE
Purchased with funds given by Dr. Bertram H. Schaffner
CATALOGUE DESCRIPTION
The Buddhist deity, Tara, seated in lalitasana on an elaborate throne. Her right foot supported by a lotus, she is flanked by two devotees and her right hand is extended in varada mudra, her left holds a nilotpala (blue lotus). The goddess is surrounded by a circular aureole, with pearl and flame borders, and two kinnara (heavenly dwarf musicians) are shown in the upper border among stylized flowers. The base of the throne is flanked by two lions disgorging pearls. The Buddhist creed is inscribed in the nimbus: "invoke the presence of the Dharma, the universal truth taught and embodied by the..." (god or goddess in the image), see Huntington, "Leaves of the Bodhi Tree," p. 124.
EXHIBITIONS
MUSEUM LOCATION
This item is on view in Asian Galleries, Southwest, 2nd floor
CAPTION
Seated Tara, 9th century. Black schist, 30 1/4 x 15 3/4 x 7 3/4 in., 181 lb. (76.8 x 40 x 19.7 cm, 82.1kg). Brooklyn Museum, Purchased with funds given by Dr. Bertram H. Schaffner, 1995.136. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 1995.136_SL1.jpg)
IMAGE
overall, 1995.136_SL1.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph
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RIGHTS STATEMENT
Creative Commons-BY
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