Prompt:

The visual representation of deities and holy personages is a feature of religious beliefs and
practices throughout the world.
Select and fully identify two examples from the required 250 of representations of deities or holy
personages, in any medium, from two different cultures. At least one of your choices must be
from Content Area 7, West and Central Asia.
Using specific visual evidence, analyze each work in relation to the religious
beliefs and practices within its culture. 
Submit a document using the outline below
-use bullet points:

Question Breakdown: Outline:

What work did you select from
your 1st representations of deities or holy
personages? Include, name/designation, date,
material, culture of origin and the associated
religion
 Jowo Rinpoche statue from Buddhism
 Brought to Tibet in 641 CE
 Previously a Nirmanakaya statue, but later
transformed into a Sambhogakaya Buddha
 Buddhism religion in Tibet
 Includes precious metals, pearls, and
paints, as well as covered in gold

What work did you select from  Reliquary of Saint-Foy

your 2nd representations of deities or holy
personages? Include, name/designation, date,
material, culture of origin and the associated
religion
 Made around c. 1050-1130 CE
 Material is a wooden core covered with
gold, jewels, and silver
 Located in Conques, France
 Religious figure of the Christion faith

Describe the visual qualities of the 1st work
you selected? Include at least 5 strong visual
qualities.
 Made to imitate Buddha himself- most
accurate representation (contextual)
 Is sitting down in the lotus position
(padmasana), with his left hand in the
praying position and his right on his lap
 Is completely in the covered in gold
 Dressed in a jeweled crown and robes
 The statue is about 1.5 meters tall

Analyze the 1st work in relation to the  Representation of their deceased religious

religious beliefs and practices within its ruler- Buddha himself
culture.
-In order to answer this you need to know: the
religion, the beliefs/practices of that religion,
if imagery or materials used are a direct
reflection of that religion/belief. 
Describe the visual qualities of the 2nd work
you selected? Include at least 5 strong visual
qualities.
Analyze the 2nd work in relation to the
religious beliefs and practices within its
culture.
-In order to answer this you need to know: the
religion, the beliefs/practices of that religion,
if imagery or materials used are a direct
reflection of that religion/belief. 
Tie it all together (closing paragraph):
Although the essay does not specifically ask
 The various decorations/ ornaments
represent the Sambhogakaya Buddhist
religion in particular (as opposed to the
Nirmanakaya faith which is much plainer)
 Worship the statue- sick or dying people
offer gold to the statue which is then
applied to the statue’s face and body
 People also send Golden Letters to the
statue, believe to heal them or provide
safe passage to the afterlife
 Energy of the Jowo Rinpoche is believed
to transform people or help them at the
time of death
 Shows a small figure in sitting on a throne
 Completely covered in gold and studded
with jewels: amethysts, emeralds, jade
 Throne has engraved religious images of
the Christian faith
 About 33.5 inches tall
 Spolia- reuse of older materials such as a
former Roman helmet for the statue’s
head
 Holds the remains of an important saint-
12 year old martyr who was condemned
for refusing to worship a pagan god
 A focal point of the Church of Saint Foy
at Conques which is situated in the middle
of a main pilgrimage route
 Every October, a celebration and
procession is held for Saint Foy
 The jewels covering the saint’s statue
were mostly donated by pious pilgrims
paying homage to the saint
 Details on the Saint’s throne such as a
scene of crucifixion compares her
martyrdom to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ
himself, the head of the Christian religion
 Both statues are extremely important and
revered in their respective religions, one
for this, provide a comparison (similarities
and/or difference) of the 2 works you
selected. The reason for this is to provide
evidence that you thoroughly understand the
works you selected, describe any cross
cultural influences that would reinforce your
answer, and describe any visual evidence in
detail that might be vital to understanding the
works together 
in Buddhism and the other in Christian
 Both are covered in valuable materials
(gold, jewels) to show the importance of
these figures
 People that worship these religions both
donate to their religion’s statues
 Both statues are also located in important
places of worship
 The Jowo Rinpoche represents the leader
of the religion (Buddha) while the
Reliquary of Saint- Foy shows an
important figure in the religion, but not
the head of the religion (Jesus)
 The Jowo Rinpoche was made long before
the Reliquary and so represent the
different art forms of their time periods
 Since the Reliquary holds the remains of
the saint, there is only one statue
dedicated to her, but the Jowo Rinpoche is
just one of many of statues of Buddha
(although arguably the most well-known)