Statue of a Lama

Qing Dynasty
City Museum, Luoyang

As of 2006, a collection of devotional bronzes that belonged to Kangxi's mother (Xiao Zhuang, d. 1663 at age 24) has been reallocated from the Imperial Palace to the Luoyang museum. This is one statue from that collection. Lamas are regarded as reincarnated spiritual teachers and even bodhisattvas; they are especially venerated in Tibetan Buddhism. The right-hand mudra of this statue is vitarka (transmitting doctrine).