Lady with an Ermine

Object location: Living room

The framed picture positioned on the wall behind Sangharakshita’s chair is a print of Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine. The original is one of Poland’s national treasures and is housed in the Princess Czartoryski Museum in Krakow.

In 2002 Sangharakshita spent ten days in Krakow to launch a new translation of his A Survey of Buddhism. He found himself ‘overjoyed’ to visit and spend time looking at ‘one of my favourite paintings’.

The print was originally given to Paramartha after a visit to Krakow; and subsequently to Sangharakshita after he had expressed an interest in seeing it framed and hung on the wall of his living room in Urgyen House.