Panchen Lama, Nartang Style Composition - Added
The incarnation line of the Panchen Lama is a popular subject in Tibetan art. The majority of Panchen Lama paintings found in museum and private collections originate in the early 18th century with a single set of drawings and subsequent block prints. They are believed to be created at the famous printing house of Nartang Monastery (just West of Shigatse and Tashi Lhunpo Monastery).
A complete example of a painted set of compositions belongs to the collection of Tibet House, New Delhi.
The Nartang set does not contain Amitabha, Padmasambhava or Atisha. Therefore, the set does not begin with Amitabha but rather most likely uses, as the central image, the current (for the time) Panchen Lama. All of the other previous incarnations would properly hang to the right and left side of the current and centrally positioned Panchen Lama. It would seem probable that at the time of the creation of the Nartang set it ended with the 2nd Panchen Lama Lobzang Yeshe (1663-1737).