Art

  • Vase with Lotus Vines and the Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism
  • The Buddha Begins Teaching
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Sheltered by the Serpent-King
  • Buddha Shakyamuni 
  • Green Tara (Shyama Tara)
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Buddhist Monastic Rules from the Pali Canon
  • Padmasambhava with his 25 Tibetan Pupils From a series of 7 thangkas
  • Stupa
  • Kannon, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • The Bodhisattva of Compassion as the Bringer of Sons
  • The Buddha Invokes the Earth Goddess as his Witness
  • Buddhist Pocket-sized Prayer Altar
  • Standing Bodhisattva
  • Head of a Buddha
  • Standing Monk with Hands Folded
  • Head of the Buddha
  • Machig Labdrön
  • Gazelle
  • Standing Buddha
  • Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
  • Sakya Pandita (1182–1252)
  • The Descent of Buddha Amida
  • Votive Stela Depicting Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Yakshi, Nymph with Lotus Flowers, fragment of a baluster
  • Buddhist Votive Tablet
  • The Three Buddhas Dipankara, Shakyamuni, and Maitreya
  • Relief of the Five Transcendent Buddhas
  • Zen Priest in a Golden Wrap
  • Seated Bodhisattva
  • Stela Showing Scenes from the Life of the Buddha
  • Dakini Vasya-Vajravarahi
  • Excerpt from the Lotus Sutra
  • Mara’s Daughters Tempt the Buddha
  • Great Stupa at Sanchi
  • Six Persimmons
  • Praying Priest
  • Buddha Shakyamuni and the Earth-Touching Gesture
  • Gendün Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama (1476–1542)
  • Padmasambhava with his 25 Tibetan Pupils From a series of 7 thangkas
  • Buddhist Monk
  • Buddha Shakyamuni at the Moment of his Awakening
  • Portrait of the Zen Priest Gemmon Doyu
  • Mahasiddha Virupa
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Sitatara, White Tara
  • Monastic Rules for Monks
  • Jambhala, the God of Wealth
  • Stupa
  • Standing Tara
  • Head of a Bodhisattva
  • Pancha Raksha Manuscript
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Vijaya Stupa
  • Prince Siddhartha’s Wedding
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Attains Awakening Under the Bodhi Tree
  • Budai
  • The Four Excursions
  • The Prophecy of the Buddha Dipankara
  • The Arhats Bakula, Rahula, Cudapanthaka, and Pindola From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • State Oracle Garment
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Ceremonial Dagger Featuring the God of Death
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion in the Posture of Royal Ease
  • Jizo Bosatsu, Bodhisattva in the Guise of a Monk
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Dharmapala Yama
  • Baisajyaguru, the Medicine Buddha
  • Dharani Sutra of the Heart of the Perfection of Insight
  • Padmasambhava
  • Shyamatara, Green Tara
  • The Descent of Buddha Amida
  • Buddha Dipankara, the Buddha of the Past
  • Shakyamuni Enters Nirvana
  • Buddha Shakyamuni From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Buddhist Votive Stela of the Yan Family
  • Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Invokes the Earth Goddess as his Witness
  • Printing Block for a Prayer from the Text “Embodiment of the Three Jewels” by Jatson Nyingpo (1585–1656)
  • Head of a Lokeshvara
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Bodhidharma Crosses the Yangtze River on a Reed
  • Buddha Shakyamuni with Scenes from his Life
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, as the Patron of fishermen
  • Buddha Maitreya
  • Amida Nyorai, Buddha of the Western Paradise
  • Hotei
  • Travel Shrine
  • Plaque Showing the Buddha Teaching
  • Buddhist Votive Tablet
  • The Prophecy of the Wise Asita
  • Shaka Nyorai, the Historical Buddha
  • The Bodhisattva of Compassion Sitting in Meditation
  • Empress Jito, from the series “Parody of the Ogura Version of ‘One Hundred Poets, One Hundred Poems’ ”
  • Vajradhara, the Primordial Buddha
  • Taima Mandala, the Buddha Amida’s Paradise
  • Seated Bodhisattva
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Meditating Under the Bodhi Tree
  • Votive Stela with Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Ascetic Milarepa
  • Guanyin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Leaving for Homelessness
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Arhats Panthaka, Gopaka, Nagasena, and Abheda From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Buddha Shakyamuni as a Newborn Infant
  • The 4th Dalai Lama Yonten Gyatso (1589–1617)
  • Dharmatala and two lokapalas From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Portrait of the Abbot Ennin
  • Avalokiteshvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion
  • Head of the Buddha
  • Bust of a Luohan
  • Female Monkey with Her Young
  • Large Votive Stupa
  • The Transcendent Buddha Akshobhya
  • Buddha Shakyamuni
  • The Layman Huashang and Two Lokapalas From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Guhyamanjuvajra
  • Standing Buddha Amida
  • Buddha Shakyamuni Tames the Wild Elephant Nalagiri
  • Shyamatara, Green Tara
  • The Buddha’s Parinirvana
  • Standing Buddha Shakyamuni
  • Hotei, One of the Gods of Good Fortune, with Child
  • Bodhidharma
  • Thangka of the Twenty-One Taras
  • The Four Pleasures of Nan Shenglu (detail)
  • Buddha Vairocana
  • The Death of the Buddha
  • Manjushri, the Bodhisattva of Wisdom
  • The Arhats Kanakavasta, Vajriputra, Kanaka Bharadvaja, and Bhadra From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
  • Ushnishavijaya
  • Half-length Portrait of the Zen Patriarch Bodhidharma
  • Rectangular Coin
  • Head of a Monk
  • Monumental Head of a Bodhisattva
  • The Arhats Vanavasin, Angaja, Kalika, and Ajita From a series of 7 thangkas with Buddha Shakyamuni and the 18 arhats
Head of a Lokeshvara

Head of a Lokeshvara

This over 800-year old figure is from Cambodia. By the third century, Buddhism had already spread from northern India across entire South-east Asia – including Myanmar, Thailand, and Cambodia. 

Audio Description

https://rietberg.fluxguide.com/fluxguide/Icon Audiodeskription

Is this the face of a human or a divine being?

https://rietberg.fluxguide.com/fluxguide/Head of a Lokeshvara

You’re at the Museum Rietberg, standing before this work of art?

Faces of the Bodhisattva Lokeshvara, Bayon temple complex, Cambodia

https://rietberg.fluxguide.com/fluxguide/Faces of the Bodhisattva Lokeshvara, Bayon temple complex, Cambodia

The Bayon temple complex in Cambodia was built by King Jayavarman VII. Originally it featured more than fifty towers, which were adorned with more than 200 faces of the Bodhisattva Lokeshvara. These faces, too, were regarded as portraits of the ruler.