Ulaanbaatar
Over 50 artworks of White Tara presented at ‘The White Tara in a Single Day’ exhibition
Art & Culture
Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On February 9, the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum hosted a certain activity that was once considered a ‘tradition’ - creating the White Tara in a single day. The event was organized on the occasion of the 8th day of the first spring month according to the lunar calendar, which is believed to be auspicious by Buddhists.
Director of the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum Ts.Erdenebaatar said, “During the early 20th century, it was customary to create the White Tara on a canvas in the size of an ‘uzuur tokhoi’ (distance between the elbow and the middle fingertip) from the day’s sunrise to sunset on the 8th of every month according to the lunar calendar. By passing this test, monks were able to become a Buddhist artist. The tradition was followed until the year of 1924. Various artworks of the White Tara that were created during the time are currently kept by museums in Mongolia.”
At ‘The White Tara in a Single Day’ exhibition, over 50 artworks of the White Tara have been presented alongside the deity’s tsakli paintings which are being shown to the public for the very first time.
One of the tsakli paintings also has the inscription of a prayer poem for the Fifth Bogd Khaan, which proves its historic significance.
Although the tradition of creating the White Tara at the Bogd Khaan’s Palace on the 8th of every month was observed between the years of 1902-1924, it was restored from 2013. The event’s scope has increasingly expanded each year, having become one of the large-scale events organized annually by the palace museum.
The exhibition will be on display at the Bogd Khaan Palace Museum for free of charge until February 16.
