Mandala of the Buddhist Meditational Deity Red Yamari (Raktayamari)

Artist: Unknown

15th century

Asian Art

Yamari, the central deity, stands in the middle of an open, eight-petaled lotus flower and embraces his consort, the feminine manifestation of his knowledge and power. In both his red and black forms, Yamari is an emanation of the Bodhisattva Manjushri, the embodiment of spiritual wisdom. This bodhisattva, with his hands in a ritual gesture (or mudra) that signifies teaching, is the second figure from the edge at the upper left of the painting, which also shows others associated with the development and transmission of the practices illustrated in a mandala. As is often the case in Tibetan painting, a monk performs a ritual at lower left.

Medium

Opaque watercolor on cloth

Dimensions

framed: 29 1/2 × 24 1/2 in. (74.9 × 62.2 cm)
unframed: 20 3/4 × 16 in. (52.7 × 40.6 cm)

Credit Line

Promised gift of Steven M. Kossak, B.A. 1972

Loan number

ILE2024.3.2

Culture
Classification
Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance

Provenance

Acquired by Pia van der Wee, and Louis van der Wee, Belgium, April 1966; sale, Bonham’s, London, March 19, 2018, lot 3014; sold to Steven M. Kossak, New York, March 19, 2018(on loan as a promised gift to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., from 2022)
Object copyright

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