Green Tara

Original Language TitleShyamatara

Original Language Title多羅菩薩鎏金銅像

CultureChinese

DateYongle period (1403-1424)

MediumGilded brass

DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 × 4 3/4 × 5 inches (19.05 × 12.07 × 12.7 cm)

Credit LineBequest of William A. Scott

Object number2011.72

InscribedDa Ming Yong Le Nian Shi (Bestowed in the Yongle period of the Great Ming)

On View

Not on view

Collections

East Asian Art

Terms

DescriptionThe figure portrays Green Tara, the tantric Bodhisattva of Enlightened Activitiy, as a sensuous woman with elaborate crown and jewelry seated on a lotus petal throne with her right leg pendant. Her left hand is raised in the gesture of teaching (vitarka), while her right, open hand faces downward in the gesture of bestowal (varada). Each hand holds the end of a long stem whcih loops around her wrist and up to her shoulders ending in a lotus bud.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Showcase: Collecting for Kansas City, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, June 9, 2012 – August 12, 2012.

Emperors, Scholars and Temples: Tastemakers of China’s Ming and Qing Dynasties, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, August 12, 2016 – July 9, 2017.

Gallery Label

According to legend, the goddess Tara was born out of the tears of Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, who wept as he looked upon the sufferings of the world. One of Tara’s many manifestations, Green Tara is typically shown as a sensuous woman wearing elaborate jewelry and seated on a lotus petal throne. Her left hand is raised in the gesture of teaching, while her right hand opens downward in the gesture of bestowal of blessings.

Provenance

William A. Scott;

Bequeathed by William A. Scott to The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2011.

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