Footnotes

銅鎏金五世達賴喇嘛阿旺羅桑嘉措像
西藏 約1642-1682年

Tibetan inscription
༄༅།།ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ་ངག་དབང་བློ
བཟང་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་སྐུ་བརྙན་ཕྱག་ནས་མ།།

Transliteration
[1] § || thams cad mkhyen pa ngag dbang blo [2] bzang rgya mtsho'i sku brnyan phyag nas ma ||

Translation
[This] image of the Omniscient¹ Ngawang Lobzang Gyatso is a statue consecrated by him.<sup>2

1</sup>The use of the Tibetan epithet thams cad mkhyen pa designates an 'all-knowing' or 'omniscient' individual. It is generally understood as synonymous for an 'Enlightened or Awakened being' (i.e. Buddha).
²The noun phrase phyag nas ma designates to a type of metal sculpture (li ma). It refers to the portrait of a Tibetan master which was blessed by the hand (phyag) of the latter by means of barley grains (nas) as part of the consecration ritual (rab gnas) of this image.

Himalayan Art Resources item no.8314
treasuryoflives.org biography no.6065
BDRC Resource ID P37

Known as 'the Great Fifth', Ngagwang Lobzang Gyatso (1617-1682) is one of the most important men in Tibetan history, certainly for the early modern period. With the support of a Mongol army, Lobzang Gyatso dispossessed his rivals and united Tibet under his rule and the Gelug order. In addition to being a skilled tactician, the Fifth Dalai Lama was a charismatic diplomat who formed lucrative alliances with the Mongol khans and the Qing court. He was also an erudite scholar who studied under Gelug, Sakya, and Nyingma masters and established numerous institutions that promoted the arts and sciences. In 1645, Lobzang Gyatso began construction on the Potala Palace in Lhasa, on the site of Songsten Gampo's (c.569-649) palace, who was the founder of the Tibetan Empire (618-842) and Tibet's first 'Dharma King'. During Lobzang Gyatso's lifetime, Lhasa became the holiest pilgrimage site in Central Asia. The sandalwood stupa erected at the Potala Palace to house the Fifth Dalai Lama's remains is considered one of Tibet's great wonders.

This gilded sculpture has the Fifth Dalai Lama's likeness of a stout frame, short neck, and round, bald head to which is added a characteristically pursed-lipped, steadfast expression (cf. HAR set no.540). This portrait emphasizes Lobzang Gyatso's role as a scholar and preserver of wisdom by depicting him holding a sutra in his lap. The meditation cloak that is draped over his shoulders and across his legs has a foliated collar and is chased with auspicious ruyi symbols floating amongst mare's tail clouds, which allude to the Great Fifth's celestial nature as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the patron deity of Tibet. On the back of his cushioned throne is an inscription that states the sculpture was once personally blessed by the Fifth Dalai Lama with his barleycorn.

Exhibited
Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 1 February – 15 July 2019.

Published
Karl Debreczeny (ed.), Faith and Empire: Art and Politics in Tibetan Buddhism, New York, 2019, p.157, fig.7.3.

Provenance
Private Collection, Switzerland, 2007