According to Buddhist texts, Maitreya will descend to earth when the dharma (Buddha’s teaching) is forgotten. As is typical of Maitreya imagery, he is depicted in this thangka (rolled painting) as seated on his throne in the Tushita heaven, where he will remain until his final rebirth on earth. The miniature stupa in his cranial protuberance holds the relics of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, the Buddha of our age. The khata (ceremonial scarf) tied around his waist is characteristic of Maitreya imagery from Tibet and Mongolia.
Details
- Title: Future Buddha Maitreya
- Date: c. 1800
- Medium: Opaque watercolor on cotton
- Dimensions: 28 x 18-3/4 in. (71.1 x 47.6 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Museum, Gift of Pratap and Chitra Pal
- Accession Number: P.1999.09.1
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Museum
Object Information
Buddha: Radiant Awaking
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, 2001-11-10 to 2002-02-24
In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas
- Norton Simon Museum, 2014-03-28 to 2014-08-25
The Universe: Creation, Constellations and the Cosmos
- Norton Simon Museum, 2001-02-04 to 2001-06-04
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Buddha: Radiant Awakening, 2001, fig. 123 p. 167
- Pal, Pratapaditya, Asian Art at the Norton Simon Museum, Volume 2: Art from the Himalayas & China, 2003, no. 138 pp. 202-203
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