Portrait of Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170) (1200s): Art, History and Details

Portrait of Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170) (1200s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This portrait statue depicts the first monastic leader of the prominent Buddhist monastery of Densatil, an influential early leader of the Tibetan Buddhist monastic order called Kagyu, famous for his views on the importance of meditation. He sits on a lotus pedestal and lion throne, like a Buddha, and his hand positions (mudras) communicate that meditation leads to enlightenment.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170)
• Date: 1200s
• Culture: Central Tibet
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: gilt bronze with gold, silver, copper, turquoise, lapis, and coral inlay
• Dimensions: Overall: 13.5 x 12 x 8.5 cm (5 5/16 x 4 3/4 x 3 3/8 in.); Base: 8 x 19 x 14 cm (3 1/8 x 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.)
• Collection: Tibetan Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1993.160

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• "1993 Annual Report." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 81, no. 6 (1994): 143-218.
• Huntington, John C., Dina Bangdel, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003.
• Rossi & Rossi Ltd, and Eti Bonn-Muller. Classical Selection 2014. London: Rossi & Rossi Ltd, 2014.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.