Seated on a resplendent throne and garbed in the regalia of a Tibetan king, the subject of this painting is the folklore hero and religious icon, Ling Gesar. The myth of Gesar has a very long history in Central Asia and Tibet, with some scholars positing that the origins of the story emerged in the last centuries before the Common Era. The Epic of Gesar, one of the longest epics in human history, was primarily passed down orally by bards and balladeers. In the eastern regions of Kham and Amdo, where Gesar is perhaps most popular, Gesar was sublimated from primarily a secular, mythical hero to a religious figure as a manifestation of the great teacher and transmitter of Buddhism, Padmasambhava. He is typically represented as a warrior on horseback, or in the present case, as a king amidst his retinue of heroes; this latter representation only gained popularity in the late nineteenth century.
The present painting depicts Gesar seated on an ornate, raised throne with a green bolster, richly decorated in gilding with mountain scenes. He holds a flaming jewel in his raised right hand and a bow in his left, and is garbed in heavy robes decorated with cloud motifs. Around his neck he sports a necklace strung with dzi beads and a large central amulet, and his ears are adorned with gold and coral earrings, both of the type still found in traditional Tibetan jewelry. His face, with stern expression, is topped with a traditional Tibetan hat with a small vase finial and feather tucked into the cap. In the sky above him, Padmasambhava sits on a cloud at center, flanked by Tsangpa on the left and Nammen on the right. In the landscape around him, his traditional retinue of thirty heroes and five female figures are depicted in various poses and are all identified by inscription.
The back of the painting bears an inscription with the name of a donor figure, Tsewang Peljor, as well as a pair of handprints, likely those of Peljor himself. Although there is no certainty around the exact identity of Tsewang Peljor, there was a lama with the same name at Palpung Monastery in Kham that was said to have taught the Vinaya texts to the Ninth Gangkar Lama, Karma Shedrub Chokyi Sengge around 1910. Given the painting’s distinctly Kham style and its likely date of the late nineteenth or early twentieth century, it is certainly possible the Tsewang Peljor in the inscription corresponds to the lama at Palpung Monastery.
The full inscription on the back of the painting can be translated as:
“Om svasti!

This is the emanation of the three families: the warrior deity, the great lion and king.
The main deity, with his retinue, is the symbolic representation of the samayamudra.
[This painting] was made to increase the animate and inanimate world, good fortune, wellbeing,
and virtuous luck.
In particular, I ask you to ensure that Tsewang Peljor is never without protection and security, and that his longevity, merits and charisma increase as he engages in a contest of strength.”