The Arhat Vajraputra. Artist: Unidentified Artist Sino-Tibetan, 15th century. Culture: Tibet. Dimensions: Image: 32 x 20 in. (81.3 x 50.8 cm). Date: 15th century.Tibetan Buddhism, imported in China by Mongol rulers in the thirteenth century, enjoyed further patronage from fifteenth-century emperors of the early Ming period. This work vividly demonstrates how hieratic Tibetan imagery was transformed under Chinese influence into a more naturalistic style, witnessed most strongly in the Sinicized treatment of landscapes. This painting, originally part of a set depicting the sixteen arhats (Buddhist saints), portrays Vajraputra, his hand raised in the teaching gesture (vitarkamudra), expounding dharma to a devotee. Tibetan inscriptions appear on the lower left margin and on the reverse. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.