Accession no.: 1977.340
Credit line: Rogers Fund, 1977

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The painting presents a solitary Bodhisattva identified as Mañjuśrī, the Buddhist embodiment of wisdom, rendered in a modest religious context.

The painting presents a solitary Bodhisattva identified as Mañjuśrī, the Buddhist embodiment of wisdom, rendered in a modest religious context. The figure is shown with attributes that signal scholarly insight, though specific iconographic details are not recorded. Executed in distemper on cloth around 1385, the work belongs to the religious painting genre and was created by an anonymous artist. It entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, now part of its holdings.

Technique & Style

Created in 1385 by an anonymous artist, this religious painting depicts the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. The work is executed using distemper on a cloth support, a medium characteristic of specific traditional painting classifications. Physically, the piece measures 83.9 centimeters in height and 74 centimeters in width.

Currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the artwork represents a specific instance of late 14th-century devotional imagery, defined by its material composition and dimensional proportions rather than a named stylistic school.

History & Provenance

The work titled Untitled is an anonymous religious painting executed in distemper on cloth and dated to 1385. It portrays the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, a motif recorded in both the internal catalogue and the Wikidata entry. The painting was created by an unidentified artist and entered the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where it remains on view.

Its inception date is recorded as 1385‑01‑01, and the work has been part of the museum’s holdings since acquisition, with no earlier ownership recorded. Commission details are not documented.

The painting titled Untitled, created in 1385 by an anonymous artist, is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The work, executed in distemper on cloth, measures 83.9 cm in height and 74 cm in width. While the provided sources confirm its location within the museum's holdings and its physical dimensions, they do not specify a unique inventory or accession number for the piece.

Furthermore, the available documentation offers no details regarding the artwork's exhibition history or specific provenance beyond its current institutional custody.

Overview

This untitled Tibetan painting, created in the late 1300s, depicts a radiant golden figure seated upon a lotus. The central subject holds a sword and a book, objects rich with symbolic meaning. Executed in distemper on a rough cloth support, the artwork exhibits a soft, almost chalk-like texture. Despite its considerable age, evidenced by frayed edges, the golden elements within the composition retain their luminosity.