Green Tara, Seated in Pose of Royal Ease (Lalitasana), with Lotus Stalks on Right Shoulder and Hands in Gestures of Reasoning (Vitarkamudra) and Gift Conferring (Varadamudra)
Ming dynasty (1368–1644), Yongle reign mark and period (1403–24)
Medium
Gilt copper alloy with traces of pigment (lapis lazuli)
Dimensions
21.5 × 13.5 × 12.5 cm (8 1/2 × 5 1/4 × 4 7/8 in.)
Classification
bronze
Department
Arts of Asia
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
15722
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
China's pantheon of Buddhist deities, with their accompanying rituals and artistic styles, burgeoned following its conquest by the Mongols and its absorption into the pan-Asian, multiethnic Yuan empire (1279 1368). From then on, many Chinese rulers and members of elite society, of both native and foreign heritage, became fervent devotees of Tibetan Buddhism. This faith is also known as Vajrayana (Diamond Path) Buddhism or, for its esoteric teachings derived largely from Hinduism, Tantric Buddhis...