Item: Teacher (Lama) - (unidentified, male, monastic)

Teacher, male monastic, unidentified. The identification of a monastic figure is primarily based on the unique shirt with rounded edges modelled from the Vinaya descriptions of a nun's vest. The hair style is unusual yet comparable with other portrait images of unidentified 14th century teachers, HAR #68487 and 65458, although the latter figures are of a Nyingma lay practitioner and a likely Bon lay teacher.

Figures such as this can represent a famous abbot of an important monastery or a renowned teacher of the time. In some cases they are included in a lineage set of multiple religious teachers or abbatial hierarchs.

From the 18th century to the present a similar cropped hair style has been found with Marpa Chokyi Lodro. The sculpture of the time are generally from Central Tibet. The painting style employing this characteristic is from the Palpung Monastery of Kham Provence and the preferred aesthetics of Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne.

Jeff Watt 4-2024.