Turbans and Turquoise: 17th-Century Painted Patron Scenes at Basgo’s Chamchung Temple in Ladakh, India

FAIN: FT-291886-23

Melissa R. Kerin
Washington and Lee University (Lexington, VA 24450-2116)

Research and writing leading to an article on 17th-centrury patron scenes in three Buddhist temples in Basgo (Northern India).

The seventeenth-century painted patron scene at Basgo’s Chamchung Temple in Ladakh (India’s western Himalaya) is at the heart of my project, which will identify and analyze the socio-religious cross-currents informing the production and multivalency of this patron tableau.While displays of patrons are common components of many wall painting programs throughout Buddhist Ladakh as early as the twelfth century, they are, in fact, insufficiently studied despite containing layers of information about contemporaneous Ladakhi culture. I argue that this patron scene at Basgo, and others at western Himalayan sites, provide critical information about Ladakhi Buddhist court culture especially related to expressions of social stratigraphy, standing of elite women, and the cultural exchange between Ladakh and the Mughal Empire. Analysis of three foci and their associated issues contribute to developing a transregional discussion about medieval patron scenes within Buddhist contexts, and beyond.