Page 56 - Bonhams Himalayan, Indian Art march 2015

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A thangka of Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari
Tibet, mid-14th century
Distemper on cloth; seated on a lotus throne rising from aquatic vines, holding the lotus
and mala and displaying the gesture of greeting with his four hands, surrounded by a divine
entourage, lineage masters, and lay patrons.
Image: 17 3/8 x 15 1/4 in. (44.1 x 38.7 cm)
$100,000 - 150,000

The thangka depicts Avalokiteshvara as the personification of the mantra om mani padme hum
(‘hail to the jewel in the lotus’). This ubiquitous Tibetan mantra is thought to contain the essence
of the bodhisattva, the Lord of Compassion. He is flanked by the goddess Shadakshari, who
reflects him in female form on the right, and Manidhara (‘Jewel Holder’) on the left.

They sit within a grotto-like pavilion joined by Manjushri and Vajrapani. The grotto’s rainbow
border evokes the emanating brilliance of the deities. Above, in multi-colored stylized rocky
outcrops, sit the five Dhyani Buddhas and two rishis, with the chief of the lotus family, Buddha
Amitabha, at the apex.

David Jackson discusses this painting at length in the context of lineage thangkas and the
development of the Nepalese painting tradition in Tibet. A Kadampa lineage begins in the top
left corner with Shakyamuni and Vajradhara and continues on the right, featuring Tilopa and
Atisha. The second tier begins with Droton Kunga Gyaltshen, who flourished in the early to
mid-fourteenth century, and continues with other lineage masters. Three more gurus populate
the bottom left corner, while three lay patrons, possibly a father and two sons, appear in the
bottom right corner.

The painting belongs to what Jackson terms the Sakya/Yuan period of the early Beri style
of Nepalese painting in Tibet (circa 1260s-1350s). Chief among the style’s characteristics
exhibited in this painting is the intricate red and indigo scrollwork behind the central figures.
Avalokiteshvara’s dhoti is also longer, and his crown-leaves are more prominent, when compared
to a related composition in the Pala-style held in the Walters Art Museum (ibid., p. 114, fig. 6.21).

The thangka is closely related to the later Yuan-period murals of Shalu monastery (1320s-30,
cf. ibid. fig 6.16, p. 107) and an early-14th century thangka of Shadakshari held in a private
collection (ibid., p. 110, fig. 6.19), conferring a slightly later date of the mid-14th century.

Referenced
HAR – himalayanart.org/image.cfm/41209.html

Published
David P. Jackson, The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting, New York, 2010, p. 112, fig. 6.20

Provenance
Private Collection, New York

54 | BONHAMS