Buddha Shakyamuni and Scenes of His Previous Lives (Jataka Tales)
Unknown Artist
1573–1619
Medium
Distemper on cloth
Dimensions
Image: 27 3/8 × 18 1/2 in. (69.5 × 47 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture
Tibet
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Zimmerman Family Collection, Purchase, Lila Acheson Wallace Gift, 2012
Accession Number
2012.461
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Tibetan painting, created by an unknown artist between 1573 1619, captures the enlightened Buddha Shakyamuni its center, surrounded by vivid scenes from the Jataka—stories of his previous lives as and animals. Rendered in distemper on cloth, a traditional medium using natural pigments bound with animal glue, the work measures 27⅜ × 18½ inches. This portable format was ideal for Tibetan Buddhist practitioners, allowing the scroll to be unrolled for meditation, teaching, or rituals in monasteries or nomadic settings. The Jataka Tales, numbering over 500 in Buddhist literature, il...