Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia at LACMA

 

Crowned Buddha
Thailand, Lopburi, circa 1250-1300
Copper alloy
Gift of Michael Phillips and Juliana Maio (AC1994.232.1)
© LACMA

 
 

Realms of the Dharma

Buddhist Art Across Asia

 

May 11, 2025 – July 12, 2026

Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art Across Asia presents an international survey of Buddhism and Buddhist art, beginning with the religion’s origins in India and following its spread through mainland and island Southeast Asia (Myanmar [Burma], Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Indonesia), the Himalayas (Kashmir, Nepal, and Tibet), and East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan). Incorporating 180 masterpieces of pan-Asian Buddhist art, the exhibition introduces key concepts of Buddhist thought and practice viewed through the prism of rare and extraordinarily beautiful Buddhist sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects.

Drawn from LACMA’s permanent collection, with several significant loans from private collections, the exhibition explores the life of the Buddha, the role of the bodhisattva or Buddhist savior, Buddhist cosmology, and such key concepts as dharma, karma, nirvana, mantra, mudra, and mandala. The show will focus on art associated with such key phases of Buddhism as Theravada (early monastic Buddhism), Mahayana (the “Great Vehicle”), Vajrayana (the “Diamond Vehicle”—tantric or esoteric Buddhism), and Chan (Zen).

 
 
 
 

Exhibition Preview

 

The Mahasiddha (Great Adept) Naropa (956-1040)
Central or Eastern Tibet, 15th-16th century
Gilt copper alloy with paint and silver
Gift of the 2001 Collectors Committee (M.2001.45)
© LACMA

Memorial Statue of a Deified Queen
Indonesia, Eastern Java, 14th-15th century
Volcanic stone
Gift of Mr. Jerry Heymann (M.81.273)
© LACMA

Dancing Vajravarahi/Vajrayogini
Central Tibet, Densatil Monastery (?), c. 15th century
Gilt copper alloy inlaid with gemstones; traces of paint
Purchased by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art Board of Trustees in honor of Dr. Pratapaditya Pal, Senior Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 1970–95 (AC1996.4.1)
© LACMA

Couchant Deer, 7th–8th century
Thailand, Mon-Dvaravati
Sandstone
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harry Lenart
© LACMA

Kunga Tashi and Incidents from His Life (Abbot of Sakya Monastery, 1688-1711)
Central Tibet, Tsang Valley, a Sakyapa Monastery, circa 1675-1700
Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.83.105.16)
© LACMA

The Buddhist Goddess Tara
Indonesia, Central Java, late 9th-10th century
Copper alloy
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.73.4.13)
© LACMA

The Bodhisattva Manjushri (Dharmachakra Manjushri)
Nepal, 11th century
Unalloyed copper inlaid with rubies
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.75.4.19)
© LACMA

Yamantaka Vajrabhairava
Central Tibet, Tsang Valley, a Sakyapa Monastery, mid-15th century
Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.77.19.8)
© LACMA

Buddha Shakyamuni
India, Uttar Pradesh, late 6th century, Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, gift of the Michael J. Connell Foundation
© LACMA

Votive Stupa
Cambodia, 12th-13th century
Copper alloy
Gift of Anna Bing Arnold (M.87.243)
© LACMA

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara
India, Bihar, Kurkihar, circa 900
Patinated copper alloy
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.81.8.3)
© LACMA

The Mahasiddha (Great Adept) Chandragomin
Bangladesh, 12th century
Black schist
Gift of Paul F. Walter (AC1992.208.2)
© LACMA

The Buddhist Deities Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi
Tibet (by a Newar artist), circa 15th century
Mineral pigments and traces of gold on cotton cloth
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.70.1.3)
© LACMA

Buddha Shakyamuni
India, Bihar, c. 850, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase, photo
© LACMA

Buddha Shakyamuni
India, Tamil Nadu, Nagapattinam, 11th century
Granulite
Gift of Mr. Anthony A. Manheim (M.80.227)
© LACMA

The Buddhist Goddess Green (Shyama) Tara
India, Bihar, Patna District, 9th century
Biotite schist
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.76.2.30)
© LACMA

Thunderbolt (Vajra; Tibetan: Dorje)
Eastern Tibet, 18th century
Gilt copper alloy inlaid with gemstones
Indian Art Special Purpose Fund (M.81.4)
© LACMA

Yama and Yami
Eastern Tibet, Kham region, circa 1675-1725
Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jack Zimmerman (M.71.78)
© LACMA

Two Addorsed Tree Dryads
India, Madhya Pradesh, Sanchi, Stupa I, 50 BCE-50 CE
Sandstone
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, purchased with funds provided by Mr. and Mrs. Allan C. Balch (M.85.2.1)
© LACMA

Chintamani Lokeshvara
Nepal, circa 1500
Wood with paint
Gift of Anna Bing Arnold (M.84.93)
© LACMA

Brahmanrupa Mahakala (Tibetan: Gonpo Bramzehi), c. 15th century
Central Tibet (Sakyapa Monastery)
Silver inlaid with turquoise; traces of paint
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, from the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, purchased with funds provided by the Jane and Justin Dart Foundation
© LACMA

The Buddhist Goddess Mahashri Tara and Companions
Nepal, 10th century
Gilt copper alloy with gemstones and traces of paint
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.79.9.4)
© LACMA

Karma Amitayus, From a Mandala of the Ninefold Amitayus
Central Tibet, Phanyul Valley (?), circa 1170-1189
Mineral pigments and gold on cotton cloth
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.84.32.5)
© LACMA

Bishamonten, Kamakura period, c. 1250
Japan
Wood, crystal, traces of polychromy and gilding
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of the 2002 Collectors Committee
© LACMA

The Cosmic Buddha Vairochana
China, Ming dynasty, c. 1600, Los Angeles County
Museum of Art, gift of Richard and Ruth Dickes
© LACMA

Crowned Buddha
Thailand, Lopburi, circa 1250-1300
Copper alloy
Gift of Michael Phillips and Juliana Maio (AC1994.232.1)
© LACMA

Head of a Bodhisattva
Pakistan, Gandhara region, 2nd-3rd century
Gray schist with traces of red devotional paint
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.71.1.45)
© LACMA

The Mahasiddha (Great Adept) Vanaratna (1384-1468) Receiving Abhishekha (Initiation) from White (Sita) Tara)
Nepal, Patan, Pintu Bahi, dated 1469
Mineral pigments on cotton cloth
From the Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection, Museum Associates Purchase (M.77.19.3)
© LACMA