Portrait of The Great Teacher Marpa

Portrait of The Great Teacher Marpa

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This portrait is inscribed with the name of Marpa (1012–1097), one of the seminal figures of early Tibetan Buddhism who was renowned as the principal teacher of Milarapa (1040–1123). He traveled to India several times to study and became the disciple of Naropa, one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas celebrated in Tibet.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.