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Potala Palace Red Palace:Thirteenth Dalai Lama
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Potala Palace Red Palace:Thirteenth Dalai Lama
CHINA, Tibet, Lhasa; 20th century; Clay; H: 140 cm
The statue of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama is located in the Red Palace within the Potala Palace complex. This incarnation assumed political power in 1895 and ruled Tibet for 38 years until his death in 1933. He is represented against a painting of central Lhasa. Beneath a ritual hat and rounded forehead, the eyes are bright and piercing while the tightly-closed lips are emphasized by a thin mustache and a tuft below the lower lip. The body is swathed in a brocade coat. The right hand raised in the vitarka (teaching) mudra emphasizes his religious rather than political role. |
