Item: Amoghasiddhi Buddha - (Sambhogakaya)
| Origin Location | Tibet |
|---|---|
| Date Range | 1200 - 1299 |
| Lineages | Buddhist |
| Material | Ground Mineral Pigment on Cotton |
| Collection | Private |
Classification: Deity
Appearance: Peaceful
Gender: Male
Amoghasiddhi, Buddha (Tibetan: don yo dru pa, sang gye): the patriarch of the fifth of the Five Families of Transcendent, or Symbolic, Buddhas, residing in the Karma Paripurana buddhafield.
Amoghasiddhi, golden yellow in this composition, is typically green in colour with one face and two hands. The right hand is held up to the heart and the left rests in the lap. He wears jewel ornaments and garments with the over all appearance of a peaceful deity seated in a vajra-cross legged posture. Two attendant bodhisattva figures stand to the right and left sides. Only the standing figure on the proper left side, orange in colour, can be identified as Maitreya in a peaceful bodhisattva appearance. A small water vase adorns the fronds of leaves held in the right hand. The standing white figure is currently unidentified.
The winged figures on either side of the lower throne are kinnaras as is typical for the throne supports of Amoghasiddhi. Each of the Five Symbolic Buddhas have a different animal support adorning the base of the elaborate throne seat.
The ten seated bodhisattvas at the top of the composition appear to be identical for each painting of the three known surviving compositions.
The Buddhas along the bottom are seven of the Thirty-five Confession Buddhas according to the system of Nagarjuna. The lower registers of the other four compositions would hold the remaining thirty-five buddhas. At the bottom left side is a Tibetan monk wearing a meditation cloak around his lower torso.
Amoghasiddhi is associated with Vajrayana Buddhism and originates in the Tantric Literature of the Charya, Yoga and Anuttarayoga Tantra classes. The sculptural images generally fall into two groups, either as Buddhas with monastic robes and without ornaments known as nirmanakaya appearance or Buddhas in Bodhisattva Appearance, also known as peaceful appearance, with crowns and ornaments - sambhogakaya appearance. He is most commonly depicted in the set of the Five Symbolic Buddhas.
Jeff Watt 6-2023
Paintings Set: Five Symbolic Buddhas (Jucker)
Collection: Sotheby's, London (October 2023)
Buddhist Deity: Amoghasiddhi Buddha Main Page