The king seated cross-legged on a throne beneath a canopy with gold tassels, wearing an orange robe with cloud pattern, large earrings and a red headdress with a Buddha head finial, an incense burner, offerings of fruit and a coral branch in a vase laid out before him, a pile of books to his right and a bowl of fruit to his left.

According to tradition, King Songtsen Gampo (569 - 649?), influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti brought Buddhism to Tibet. He was effectively the first ruler of Tibet after unifying several smaller local kingdoms and is credited for contributing to creating the Tibetan script and development of the Classical Tibetan language.