Sitatapatra

Location
Tibet

Date
dated 1864

Material
Pigments on cloth

Catalog Number
F1996.18.1 (HAR 468)

Collection
Rubin Museum of Art

Provenance
Gift of the Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation

Sitatapatra, a female Buddhist deity associated with protection and the prevention of obstacles in everyday life, is equipped with ten million eyes that watch over those in need. She carries a white parasol symbolizing benevolent protection, and the various implements in her thousand hands each signify a specific benefit. She tramples personifications of overcome obstacles under her feet.
An inscription at the bottom of the painting records that it was commissioned in 1864 in Tibet by a loving husband—likely a Newar of the Kathmandu Valley—on behalf of and in honor of his late wife, Lakshmi. This commission was intended to increase merit for the deceased and remove obstacles to ensure a better rebirth in her next life.