Hongfo Pagoda: Thousand Buddhas in Stupas

CHINA, Ningxia, Yinchuan; Western Xia period

The central Buddha figure in this Thousand Buddhas in Stupas painting wears a red monastic robe and sits in full lotus position within a niche, forming the bhumisparsa (earth-touching) mudra. A nimbus, a mandorla, and an aureole are painted behind the Buddha, and there is a stupa above his head. Thirty-five smaller Buddhas, also sitting within niches topped with stupas, are arranged in rows and columns surrounding the central figure. They form the bhumisparsa (earth-touching), vitarka (teaching), dhyana (meditation), or Dharmacakra (Dharma wheel) mudras. The painting is primarily colored in red, yellow, and blue, and complimented with traces of gold.