Page 52 - Christies Indian and Himalayan Art Sept 2015

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A PAINTING OF THE SIXTH KARMAPA, TONGWA TONDEN
TIBET, 19TH CENTURY

Very fnely painted with the Karmapa seated on an elaborate throne
before a table of offerings, holding a vajra in his right hand and a
bell in his left, wearing a delicately patterned uniform covered by a
monk’s patchwork shawl with intricate gold design, a lavish blue,
orange and gold cape draped around his lap, his focused expression
with bow-shaped mouth, long wide nose and upturned elongated
eyes with furrowed brows, his cropped hair surmounted by a black
peaked hat decorated with jewels and centered by a crescent moon
and sun over a double vajra, his head backed with a translucent red
halo, two devotees seated on cushions to his left and an attendant
standing in the foreground holding a large text, all set against a
verdant landscape with fowing rivers, delicate foliage and clouds
Opaque pigments and gold on textile
39Ω x 24 in. (100.5 x 60 cm.)

$80,000-120,000

PROVENANCE:

Private collection, Colorado, acquired by 1 June 1989

PUBLISHED:

Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 23949

The Karmapa is the head of the Karma Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism,
the largest of four sub-school of the Kagyu tradition, whose origins date
back to the 12th century.
This fnely rendered painting of the 6th Karmapa Tongwa Tonden
(1416-1453), is the eighteenth composition from a large set of Karma
Kagyu lineage teacher paintings known as the Kagyu Sertreng. With a
rich iconographic narrative, the painting depicts Saraswati, goddess of
literature, poetry and wisdom, seated on a cloud at the upper right; the
third Shamarpa Chopel Yeshe (1406-1452), which translates to “Holder of
the Red Hat,” seated to the right; and just below him, the renowned Sakya
teacher, Rongton Sheja Kunzig (1367-1449).
Compare with a set of seven paintings depicting lineage teachers of the
Karma bKa’-brgyud-pa tradition (D. Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting,
1995, p.292, fgs.148-154).

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