The Panchen Lama seated in relaxed posture on a cushion placed on an elaborate throne, holding a book in his right hand, while making an instruction gesture with his left hand, dressed in monks robes and surrounded by scenes of his life stories, the scenes with Tibetan inscriptions in gold. With a hand print of a priest and a seal to the reverse. Gouache and gold on cloth. Brocade mounting. Pigment losses and creases.Ensapa Lobzang Dondrub (1505-1564) was born in Lhaku in Tsang, in a place called Wensa. At a very young age Ensapa met his first teacher, the abbot of Wensa monastery, nd he went on to receive teachings in several other monasteries. He also spent more than twenty years of his life in meditation caves. He composed various scriptures, which comprise two volumes. Ensapa was posthumously appointed as the third Panchen Lama of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.This extremely fine thangka belongs probably to a larger series each depicting a Panchen Lama or the principle lama of the Tashilunpo monastery located in Shigatse. The Panchen Lama belongs to the Gelukpa or Yellow order and is seen as second in religious line to the Dalai Lama.