Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Museum of Art

Dharmakaya

Dharmakaya, 2004
Era and Donald Farnsworth (American)
Jacquard tapestry, cotton
Museum purchase. LUMA Collection 2006-02

Produced on an electronic jacquard loom, this tapestry depicts the typical background scene of the Tibetan thangka. Unlike a traditional thangka, which is typically painted on silk and used as a guide for religious contemplation, Dharmakaya does not include a representation of a deity in human form. Instead, the attention is focused on what is usually the thangka’s background image: the heavens, earth, sun, and moon. This allows for contemplation of the non-human manifestations of divinity.