Ring-na(five-petal ritual diadem) Embroidered with the Five Transcendent Buddhas

Like their ethnic cousins the Mongols, the Manchu, the northeast Asian tribal group who ruled China as the Qing dynasty, were devout followers of Vajrayana Buddhism. The Qing rulers and aristocracy commissioned paintings, sculptures, and ritual objects made in the Tibetan style for their own personal use as well as for gifts to present to the high lamas of Tibet and Mongolia. The diadem(ring-na) was embroidered in China for wear by a Tantric Buddhist monk or oracle during rituals and ceremonies such as initiations, funerals, and exorcisms. Each of the five panels depicts one of the Five Transcendent Buddhas(五智如來), divine beings who have overcome the cycle of rebirth and suffering through the attainment of spiritual knowledge.