Mandala of Shakyamuni Buddha with Cloisonné Enamel - View 1

This Buddhist mandala (tancheng, lit. "altar city") is embellished with colorful cloisonné enamel glazes. The base is a circle, and the exterior wall is decorated by a pattern of intertwining red, yellow, blue, green, and purple lotuses. The base also features a raised flame pattern in red, blue, yellow, purple, and black. The inner ring has gilded copper ritual objects (called vajra, which means diamond or thunderbolt). Every level symbolizes a different realm of the Dharma. A raised square platform rises from the round base. A palatial structure rests upon the platform. Each of the four sides features a stretch of stairs in yellow, red, blue, or white enamel. A protective vajra is located in the middle of each stretch of stairs. The palatial structure is designed after flat-roofed Tibetan architecture. Ornamented with various golden images associated with the Dharma and Buddhist instruments, the main hall displays a statue of the preaching Shakyamuni Buddha.
Originating in the Sanskrit language, a mandala (lit. "circle" or "disk") is a structure of Esoteric Buddhism architecture in Sanskrit, and within it buddhas and bodhisattvas to be consecrated to host the mindful training and other Esoteric rituals used by buddhas and bodhisattvas for ritual purposes. This mandala is made with fine craftsmanship. Large and glimmering with bright colors, the work is a combination of techniques used in metal and enamel arts.

view of the item from one side