Initiation Card (Tsakalis): Chenresi (Avalokiteshvara)
Unknown Artist
early 15th century
Medium
Opaque watercolor on paper
Dimensions
Each 6 1/4 x 5 3/4 in. (16 x 14.5 cm)
Classification
Paintings
Culture
Tibet
Department
Asian Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 2000
Accession Number
2000.282.8
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Asian Art collection, this delicate *Initiation Card (Tsalis): Chenresi (okiteshvara)* early 15th-century Tibet captures the compassionate bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara— as Chenresi in Tibetan—in vibrant opaque watercolor on paper. Measuring 6¼ x 5¾ inches, its miniature scale made it perfectly portable for ritual use,oking the divine presence in intimate ceremonies. Tsakalis like this were essential tools in Tibetan Buddhist initiations, or *wang*, where lamas presented these cards to students as visual aids for meditation and deity visualization. Th...