Art

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