Page 68 - Blum Feinstein Tanka collection HIMALAYAN Art Bonhams March 20 2024

726
A THANGKA OF VAJRAKILA
WEST TIBET OR WEST NEPAL, 13TH CENTURY
Distemper on cloth; verso inscribed in red with multiple lines of Tibetan script
arranged in the form of a stupa behind the central figure, comprising verses
from the Pratimoksa sutra, an offering to Dharmadhathu, the ‘ye dharma hetu…’
Buddhist creed, and the Patience Prayer.
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 1862
Image: 18.5 x 14.76 in. (45.7 × 35.5 cm);
With cloth mounts: 27 1/4 x 17 in. (69.2 x 43.2 cm)

$100,000 - 150,000

藏西或尼泊爾西部 十三世紀 普巴金剛唐卡

Depicted with pale blue wings and embracing the goddess Diptachakra is
Vajrakila, the embodiment of the same tripled-bladed dagger, or phurba, he
holds in one of his secondary hands. Also known as Vajrakumara, Vajrakila is an
important empowerment deity for several monastic orders, including the Sakya,
Jonang, Kagyu, and particularly the Nyingma traditions. Located within the
painting’s periphery is a pandita at the upper right corner who likely represents
one of Padmasambhava’s eight manifestations as Pema Jungne. Moreover, there
are ten other emanations of Vajrakila with animal-faced attendants who surround
the center couple, and a retinue of twelve animal-riding deities, one of which
imaginatively portrays a multi-headed jackal-like creature in white. Also unique
among images of Vajrakila either in paintings or sculpture is the addition of a gold
container in Vajrakila’s secondary right hand, which likely serves as a vessel with
which to hold the purbha at certain moments during a ritual.

Similar in spirit and appearance to the Chaturbhuja Mahakala thangka in this
sale (Lot 729), this painting blends together the artistic traditions of western
Tibet and western Nepal to form a distinctly cosmopolitan milieu. Here, the
Nepalese penchant for detail is evident in the flowers gently tumbling within the
blue background at the painting’s upper and lower registers. On the other hand,
the chocolate-brown color of the painting’s outer border is a distinct feature of
western Tibetan paintings that also appears on two 14th c. paintings sold in
Bonhams, Hong Kong: a five-portrait Kagyu lineage thangka in 24 May 2021, lot
8, and a thangka of Chakrasamvara in 1 December 2023, lot 1843. During the
13th and 14th centuries, these western regions were ruled by the Khasa Malla
kings, whose aesthetic was formed by the absorption of styles from neighboring
kingdoms. The only painting known thus far to bear a Khasa Malla attribution
is an inscribed 14th c. painting illustrating the worship of White Tara by King
Ripumalla (c. 1300-50) and one of his sons, which is now preserved in the Tibet
Museum, Gruyères (ABP 038). Both works showcase an artist trained in the
Nepalese tradition, as demonstrated by the matching beaded design of the
bangles, armlets, and anklets accentuating their slender fingers and toes.

Published
Amy Heller, Vajrakila, Nyon, May 21, 2008.

Provenance (detail)
Carlo Cristi, 2008

66 | BONHAMS
66 | BONHAMS