These two charming and vibrant paintings depict Padmasambhava and the four-armed manifestation of Avalokitesvara known as Shadakshari Lokeshvara, two of the most important deities of Tibetan Buddhism. The subjects and narratives within the present works are portrayed in a provincial style that is unusually expressionistic for paintings of this genre. These paintings could have been produced in local monasteries and sold to pilgrims and traders traveling through Tibet from India, Nepal, China and Mongolia. In Tibet, the marketplaces of Lhasa and Shigatse were often the primary sources for such paintings and objects of devotion.
The complex narratives within the paintings likely depict the life stories or associated legends of the central figures. They serve a didactic purpose, meant to assist in the explanation of religious stories to illiterate devotees or foreigners unable to read the sacred books. For this reason, Tibetan narrative art has developed its symbolism to an extraordinary degree, in order that certain scenes and motifs may serve to fix their corresponding narratives firmly in the mind of the worshiper.
The first painting depicts Padmasambhava, a central figure in the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet. He holds a vajra in his right hand and a skull cup filled with nectar in his left. He also has multiple items associated with exorcism, including a khatvanga, or magic staff, and the raven feather-topped crown. In 747 CE, King Trisong Detsan invited Padmasambhava to Tibet from Uddiyana, a region in present-day Bengal. Padmasambhava reportedly exorcised the demons threatening the building of the monastery at Samye, one of the first major Buddhist monasteries in Tibet. The mystic also mediated local conflict between indigenous religion and Buddhism by incorporating local gods into the Buddhist pantheon as protector deities, helping to popularize Buddhism in Tibet.
The other painting depicts the four-armed manifestation of Avalokiteshvara called Shadakshari Lokeshvara, a ubiquitous Tibetan Buddhist deity associated with the pervasive six-syllable mantra: om mani padme hum. In his role as the lord of the six realms of existence— hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, demigods, and gods, he protects and guides them towards enlightenment.