Page 64 - Himalayan Art Macrh 19 2018 Bonhams

3029
A BLACKGROUND THANGKA OF VAJRABHAIRAVA
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
Distemper on cloth; recto with gold Tibetan inscriptions identifying each figure.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.2455
40 1/8 x 26 in. (102 x 66.2 cm)

$100,000 - 150,000
西藏 十八世紀 大威德金剛唐卡

This 18th-century thangka is a superb commission of the Gelug school rendered in
fine gold lines and dedicated to its principal meditational deity, Vajrabhairava. The nine-
headed deity, with his primary face of a buffalo, is the wrathful form of Bodhisattva
Manjushri. Embracing his consort Vajravetali, he tramples on a multitude of gods and
animals in front of a flaming aureole. His formidable appearance is further intensified
by a ferocious expression and flaming hair, radiating with power from the center of the
composition.

Rendered with meticulous attention, the artist’s masterful use of the brush is evident in
every inch of the painting – from the controlled strokes delineating the deity’s interwoven
locks, to the spontaneous lines creating the vivid forms of the animals in the background.
The ingenious coloring of selected subjects adds depth by placing different figure groups
onto separate planes: Vajrabhairava in the foreground; teachers and auxiliary deities
immediately behind; animals and landscape scenes recessed into the background.

Immediately above and to the right and left of Vajrabhairava are the meditational deities
Akshobhyavajra and Chakrasamvara, each embracing their consort. Vajradhara Buddha
centers the cloudy sky, flanked by four Gelug masters – Jamphel Gyatso, Tsongkhapa,
Lobzang Yeshe, and Gendun Gyatso. The rest of the composition is energized by ten
wrathful protector deities surrounding the central figure – counterclockwise from the
top left, Shadbhuja Mahakala, White Shadbhuja, Chaturmukha Mahakala, Shri Devi
Magzorma, Ochen Barma, and five attendants, Vaishravana, Begtse Chen, Yama
Dharmaraja, Chaturbhuja Mahakala, and Panjarnata Mahakala.

The present painting compares favorably to another 18th-century blackground
Vajrabhairava thangka also commissioned by the Gelug school (HAR item no.61457).

Exhibited
Masterworks: Jewels of the Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 10 February
2016–16 January 2017.

Provenance
Lithang Trading Company, Hong Kong, 15 December 1992
Private European Collection

62 | BONHAMS