Khara Khoto: Amitabha Buddha Triad

CHINA, Inner Mongolia, Alxa; Western Xia period

This painting portrays Amitabha Buddha with a golden body, a radiating nimbus, and an aureole outlined with five-color stripes and images of scarves, jewels, a palace and a pair of kalavinkas, all enveloped within a red mandorla. Amitabha sits in full lotus position upon a lotus throne emerging from a pond. The Buddha’s hands form the dhyana (meditation) mudra. Amitabha has a pointed usnisa and is dressed in a red monastic robe. The red palms and soles, and the simple depiction of the folds on the robe reflect the influence of Tibetan Buddhist art. The Bodhisattvas on lotus thrones in the bottom corners wear headdresses, earrings, and ornaments. The images of trees, kalavinkas, jewels, a palace, and a lotus pond are characteristic of the Western Pure Land.