Tibetan antique thangka painting of the Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617–1682). He was born in the Yarlung Valley in Tibet to a family of Nyingma practitioners who were descendants of the Imperial line of the Yarlung Dynasty. In 1622, he was identified as the rebirth of the 4th Dalai Lama. He finished his monastic ordination in 1638.
Often referred to as "the Great Fifth", he is best known for his ambitious endeavor to consolidate power in Tibet, becoming the first Dalai Lama to hold both Tibet's political and spiritual leadership roles after the successful military interventions of the great Mongol chieftain, Gushri Khan (painted second from the bottom in the lower right of the thangka).
He named himself an emanation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, considered to be the patron protector of Tibet. (Avalokiteshvara is painted in the starry sky between the moon and the sun, above the Dalai Lama in this thangka.)
He constructed the Potala Palace and was responsible for other great artistic projects with the intention of infusing the world with Buddhist imagery.
This thangka is painted in mineral colors on cloth and edged with silk.

Age: Early 18th century

Dimensions: Total size: 43 1/2" high x 22 1/2" wide. Size of art: 21 1/4" high x 14 1/4" wide.