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Gesar Norbu Dradul - A 'Rosetta Stone' for the Study of Gesar Iconography

Gesar Norbu Dradul: A Single Painting Depicting the Forms of Gesar According to the Writings of Mipham Gyatso. 


The example of a single painting with many forms of Gesar is very important for the study of Gesar iconography because it follows exactly the textual descriptions as written by Mipam Jamyang Namgyal Gyatso (1846-1912). The forms of Gesar depicted in this composition are some of the best known and most popular in the 20th century religious practice and in the artistic representations - painting and sculpture.


The single painting is of a standard medium size and is over flowing with figures of all sizes. The central and largest figure is that of Gesar Norbu Dradul in Dralha (dgra lha) warrior appearance, (full article) ...


(Due to length, the section above was edited out of the publication From the Treasury of Tibetan Pictorial Art: Painted Scrolls of the Life of Gesar. Editor-in-Chief, Zhang Changhong. Forward by Leonard van der Kuijp. Article by Jeff Watt. Sichuan Museum, 2012. ISBN: 978-7-101-08513-6).