Portrait of the Fifth Dalai Lama

[Portrait of the Fifth Dalai Lama]

Portrait of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, 76 centimeters vertically and 50.5 centimeters horizontally. The old collection of the Qing Palace
The fifth Dalai Lama on the screen holds a lotus flower in his right hand and a Dharma wheel in his left hand. In front of the seat, there are two attendant lamas, and in the lower right corner, there is Gushi Khan, the King of Mongols. He holds his hands together, looks up at the Dalai Lama, and sits with his legs bent on a thick cushion, demonstrating his lofty position as the ruler of Tibet at that time. The background is the magnificent Potala Palace. On the multicolored auspicious clouds in the sky are the red flying Buddhist mother and the founder of the Yellow Sect. At the bottom is the Dharmapala Brahmin. This portrait, with its sparse composition and elegant colors, is an excellent work of Tibetan Thangka in the 18th century and was presented to the Qing Palace in the 26th year of Qianlong’s reign (1761).