Art

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