Page 59 - Christies IMportant Chinese Art Sept 26 2020 NYC

ANOTHER PROPERTY
1537
A VERY LARGE AND FINELY
EMBROIDERED THANGKA OF
AMITAYUS
18TH CENTURY
The finely embroidered textile depicts
a crowned red Amitayus wearing loose,
floral-patterned robes, seated in dhyanasa
on a lotus throne with hands held in adhyana
mudra holding the Elixir of Life, beneath a
striped and floral-patterned parasol with
multi-colored tassels, all against a blue-
embroidered sky with dense clouds. In front
of him is an altar with the dharma wheel and
other various offerings. The whole is set
within brocade borders.
The embroidery 58º in. (148 cm.) x 31 in. (78.8
cm); with brocade borders 98 in. (249 cm.) x
52æ in. (133.8 cm.)

$70,000-90,000
Amitayus, known as the 'Buddha of Infinite
Life,' is one of the most popular deities in
the Tibetan Buddhist pantheon. Amitayus is
depicted here in his typical iconography, as
a bodhisattva in a seated full-lotus posture
with hands in meditation supporting a vase
containing the Elixir of Immortality.
This thangka is exceptional in both
its massive size and the quality of its
embroidery. The embroidery emphasizes the
contours of the design and subtly creates the
illusion of three-dimensional forms, which
is particularly evident in the shading of the
clouds and contours of Amitayus’ body. This
exemplifies the high standard of eighteenth-
century embroidery. For an example of
another finely-embroidered eighteenth-
century embroidered thangka, see a thangka
of Avalokiteshvara sold at Christie’s New
York, 10 March 2014, lot 1631, where the
stylization of the clouds compares closely to
the present thangka.
The rendition of red Amitayus on his lotus
throne is a popular theme in Tibeto-Chinese
paintings, and has been popular as early as
the fifteenth century. Compare a painting
showing the Paradise of Amitayus, 15th
century, illustrated in From the Sacred Realm:
Treasures of Tibetan Art from the Newark
Museum of Art, New York, 1999, pp. 247-49,
pl. 142, depicting red Amitayus in a similar
fashion, but surrounded by groups of deities
and attendants.

清十八世紀 緞繡阿彌陀佛唐卡