Portrait of Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1200s CE)

This finely crafted portrait sculpture represents Phagmo Drupa Dorje Gyalpo (1110–1170), one of the most influential Tibetan Buddhist masters of the Kagyu tradition. Although modest in size, the sculpture immediately commands attention through its rich materials, intricate inlay, and the serene, authoritative presence of the lama, who is depicted in a Buddha-like posture that underscores his spiritual attainment.

The sculpture was created in Central Tibet in the 1200s, likely only a few decades after Phagmo Drupa’s death in 1170. He was the founder of the Phagdru Kagyu lineage and the first monastic leader of Densatil Monastery, which became a major spiritual and political center in Tibet. As a principal disciple of Gampopa—himself the foremost student of the great yogi Milarepa—Phagmo Drupa played a decisive role in shaping the Kagyu school’s emphasis on meditation, especially Mahamudra practice. The period in which this sculpture was made corresponds to the so-called “second dissemination” of Buddhism in Tibet, marked by the rapid growth of monastic institutions and lineage-based traditions.

Historical sources describe Phagmo Drupa as a remarkably humble teacher. Despite his fame, he lived like an ordinary monk, carrying water, begging for food, and eating alongside his students. He famously warned that scholarship without meditative realization was like “plowing barren soil.” Such anecdotes help explain why his followers chose to depict him seated like a Buddha: not as an act of exaggeration, but as recognition of his realized state.

The sculpture is an early and important example of portrait imagery of Tibetan lama figures. In the Kagyu tradition, advanced teachers were often regarded as living Buddhas, and this belief is visually expressed here through the lotus pedestal, lion throne, and hand gestures (mudras) associated with meditation and generosity. The work reflects a broader Tibetan practice of creating devotional images to accumulate religious merit, reinforce lineage identity, and support ritual practice. Stylistically, it also shows the influence of earlier Indian and Nepalese metalwork traditions adapted to Tibetan religious needs.

The figure is made of gilt bronze and richly adorned with inlays of gold, silver, copper, turquoise, lapis lazuli, and coral. The main figure measures approximately 13.5 × 12 × 8.5 cm (about 5 5/16 × 4 3/4 × 3 3/8 inches). The separately cast and decorated base measures about 8 × 19 × 14 cm (approximately 3 1/8 × 7 1/2 × 5 1/2 inches). The base is elaborately ornamented with lions, deities, and jewel motifs, reflecting stupa-inspired architectural forms common in high-status Tibetan sculpture of the period.

The early history of the sculpture is unknown, but it was almost certainly produced in a religious context connected to Densatil Monastery or its circle. By the late 20th century, it was in the collection of David Tremayne, Ltd., London. In 1993, it was sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is preserved today.