Tibetan Lama Statue

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. Lamas are regarded as reincarnated spiritual teachers and even bodhisattvas; they are especially venerated in Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is a well-known example. The right-hand mudra of this statue is vitarka (transmitting doctrine).