Nepal, 16th–17th century; ivory; H. 5 1/2 in.; The Newark Museum, Purchase 1973 Wallace M. Scudder Bequest Fund, 73.130, photo: Robert Goodbody, Courtesy of The Newark Museum.
14. Phagpa Lokeshvara
Potala Palace
Lhasa, 2007, photo: Ondrej Zvacek, Wikimedia Commons.
This contemporary view shows the massive Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, home to the sacred depiction of Phagpa Lokeshvara. The original icon (which inspired the work on the left) resides on the altar of its own chapel in the palace’s oldest section. Many pilgrims visit each year to pay homage to this legendary image, associated with the first Tibetan king to patronize Buddhism, Songtsen Gampo (ca. 617-49).