Lama Praying Cylinder

May 1861-July 1861

Painting of a Lama in a monastery working the prayer wheel. The Lama recites a mantra from the Buddhist scriptures in front of him, while simultaneously turning the wheel with a string attached to a crank on the cylinder. The tall cylinder is painted in vivid colours with inscriptions. The monastery walls are decorated with Buddhist figures. Several ritualistic objects - a lamp, a vajra (diamond sceptre), a bell and a large drum – lie in the foreground.