The Tale of Prince Vessantara at the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford)

« The Tale of Prince Vessantara », until 09 September 2018, Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford)

The Buddha is believed to have had many lives before being born as Siddhartha Gautama. Stories of his past lives are known as jatakas (‘birth stories’). They play an important role in teaching Buddhist values.

The Vessantara Jataka is the last and most popular of the jataka tales. Here the Buddha was born as Prince Vessantara of the Sivi Kingdom, a very generous man who gave away everything, including his wife and children, to help others. His actions demonstrate the virtue of generosity, which in Buddhism is one of the ‘perfections’ required to achieve enlightenment.

The tale is often illustrated in Southeast Asian and Sri Lankan art. Buddhists can gain merit by making and commissioning these images. This display, drawn from the Ashmolean’s own collection, highlights a selection of Burmese and Sri Lankan drawings, paintings and woodcarvings of the story dating to the 19th century.

Curator : Dr Farouk Yahya

Voir : https://www.ashmolean.org/event/the-tale-of-prince-vessantara

 



Citer ce billet
Sophie Hénon (2018, 23 avril). The Tale of Prince Vessantara at the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford). Les carnets du CASE. Consulté le 19 mars 2024, à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/m8ho

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