Portrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor Monastery

Portrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor Monastery

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This tangka belongs to a set of portraits entitled the “Path with the Fruit Gurus and Ngor Abbots.” Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the abbot of Ngor monastery (1513–16), holds a book and sits on a lion throne under a lobed arch studded with lotus buds. Immediately above is the Buddha attaining enlightenment, accompanied by additional Buddhist deities and patriarchs of the Sakya monastic lineage. In the lower register are red and blue wrathful protective deities and the four lokapalas, or guardian kings, shown in yellow. During this abbot’s tenure, the monastery was at the zenith of its power, holding political control over the Ü and Tsang provinces of central and western Tibet.

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor MonasteryPortrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor MonasteryPortrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor MonasteryPortrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor MonasteryPortrait of Munchen Sangye Rinchen, the Eighth Abbot of Ngor Monastery

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.