Dharmapala Thangka CentreTibetan Antiques

The delicate crown with five Buddhas is made of colored, openwork papier-mâché. Remnants of the original gilding are still visible in some places.

Buddhist priests and monks wear crowns, or diadems, like this during certain religious ceremonies, especially priestly initiation rites. They were used in various Tantric Buddhist ceremonies including those of yidam-initiation [personal deity] and homa [fire ritual], both important practices in the Esoteric Buddhist tradition of Tibet and Mongolia. Such crowns were often part of dance costumes used in public ceremonial performances on monastery yards.

Each of the five registers contains one of the Tathagata [also called Dhyani] Buddhas [left to right]: Ratnasambhava [yellow], Amitabha [red], Vairocana [white], Amoghasiddhi [green], and Akshobhya [blue]. Each Buddha rendered with his special attributes accordning to his iconography. Each represents a special Buddhafamily and a direction as well. As such they are common to many mandalas. Above each Buddha, his corresponding seed syllable is depicted in Lhantsa script in a small circle, and below, in another circle, his assigned symbol.

Tibet, 19^th century