The present painting, depicting Shakyamuni Buddha with the Sixteen Arhats, is both striking in its use of palette and unusual for its depiction of the Buddha with very dark skin. Typically, Shakyamuni Buddha is depicted in Tibetan paintings with a lighter skin tone or with his body carried out in gold; the present painting depicts historical buddha with dark skin, perhaps emphasizing his origins in what is today southern Nepal. His two disciples at either side of him, identified by their staffs and begging bowls, are also rendered with dark skin, as is the image of Tsongkhapa above him, unusual given that the latter was born in Tibet. Tsongkhapa is identified by his yellow cap and his attributes of the book and sword emanating from lotuses at his shoulders. He is flanked by the bodhisattvas Maitreya and Manjushri, who are turned to face Tsongkhapa in adoration. The rest of the blue-ground composition is filled with the Sixteen Great Arhats, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang, and the Four Guardian Kings, and are all identified by inscriptions in Tibetan. A small painted image of Black Hayagriva, holding a sword and staff, hangs from the front of the throne supporting Shakyamuni.