Page 92 - Blum Feinstein Tanka collection HIMALAYAN Art Bonhams March 20 2024

Fig.1
Portrait of a Lama, Possibly Dromton
Tibet, Late 11th Century
18 1/4 x 14 1/4 in. (46.4 x 36.2 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
(1991.152)

At the center of this painting sits a grand lama. He wears the red and orange robes of an
ordained teacher and holds a mala draped through his hands as they unfold in the gesture of
teaching. His face turns to the left in a three-quarter profile, exposing a rounded and broad
chin. He is surrounded by diminutive deities, Indian siddhas, and Indian and Tibetan monks
wrapped in orbed leaves set against a blue background of floating flowers in a style that recalls
Indian manuscripts and in a format that designates early Tibetan portraiture of great masters as
enlightened beings. The iconography and style parallel dates to other lama portraits of the late
12th/early13th century, although both the lama’s identity and associated order remain an enigma.

Due to shared features with another lama portrait at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Fig. 1: 1991,
152) the subject of the painting has previously been identified as Chennga Tsultrim Bar (1038-
1108), a teacher of the Kadam school. Both images have similarly balding pates, a pronounced
jawline, and hold malas between their fingers. The identification of the Metropolitan Museum
painting originates from the inscription at the back which names Chennga Tsultrim Bar and
references where it was placed. Interpretations of the inscription by David Jackson suggest that
Chennga Tsultrim Bar is not only the consecrator, but also the subject of the portrait. (Jackson,
Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet, New York, 2011, p. 71-73, fig. 3.3). In the same
publication, he also remarks that the figure remains unidentifiable, though is likely a monk from the
Kadam order (ibid, 2011, p. 38, fig. 2.30). This correlates more closely to what Casey articulates,
concluding that although there are no distinguishing features to clearly identify the figure, Tsultrim
Bar’s name suggests the lama is associated with the Kadam order (Casey, Taklung Painting: A
Study in Chronology, Vol. I, 2023, p. 126-130). If the assumption is that these portraits represent
the same lama based on the parallels in physiognomy and placement of the mala, then it would
also suggest a connection to the Kadam order.

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