Page 58 - Bonhams Himalayan, Indian Art march 2015

23
A Thirty-Two-Deity Guhyasamaja Mandala
Central Tibet, 14th century
Distemper on cloth, backed onto mylar; above a scrollwork ground, the central deities in
yabyum at the center of the celestial palace surrounded by meditation deities, lineage teachers,
and a donor in the bottom right corner; inscribed in Tibetan on the reverse.
23 x 19 1/4 in. (58.4 x 48.7 cm)
$40,000 - 60,000

The Guhyasamaja tantra is the primary Highest Yoga Tantra because its mastery leads to the
study of other tantras. The central deities are flanked by attendants underneath an elaborate
torana that suggests a 14th-century date, before the great proliferation of mandalas during
the 15th and 16th centuries. Compare, for example, to a 14th-century mandala of Hevajra in a
private collection: www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/68899.html.

The appearance of Vaishravana next to the patron in the bottom right corner may connect the
mandala to Shalu monastery. Shalu saw an artistic resurgence in the early 14th century under
the patron Kunzang Dragpa Gyaltsen, who was thought to be an emanation of Vaishravana
(cf Henss, The Cultural Monuments of Tibet, vol. II, Munich, 2014, p. 595). The mandalas
lining the walls of the north Amitayus Lhakhang at Shalu published by Henss show similar
stylistic features (see ibid., pp. 618-20, figs 894-8, and p. 584, fig. 828). Vaishravana also
appears in the bottom right register in thangkas of Vajrapani and Mahakala associated with
Shalu monastery (see http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/90135.html & http://www.
himalayanart.org/image.cfm/65165.html)

Referenced
HAR – himalayanart.org/image.cfm/41210.htm

1. Akshobhyavajra 27. Prajnanraka
2. Guhyasamaja 28. Akashagarbha
3. Amitabha 29. Takkiraja
4. Amoghasiddhi 30. Lokeshvara
5. Vairochana 31. Shumbha
6. Ratnasambhava 32. Ushnisha Chakravarim
7. Gauri 33-45. Lineage Teachers
8. Tara 46-49. Lineage Teachers
9. Lochana 50. Yogambara
10. Mamaki 51. Buddhakapala
11. Gandhavajra 52. Mahamaya
12. Rasavajra 53. Unidentified
13. Rupavajra 54. Unidentified
14. Shabdavajra 55. Red Tara
15. Hayagriva 56. Six-armed Mahakala
16. Manjushri 57. Vaishravana
17. Niladanda 58. Donor
18. Nivarana Vishkambhin A. Forms of Guhyasamaja
19. Vignantaka B. Forms of Krishna Yamari
20. Samantabhadra C. Hevajra
21. Mahabala D. Chakrasamvara
22. Maitreya E. Forms of Vajrabhairava
23. Yamanataka F. Forms of Rakta Yamari
24. Kshitigarbha G. Forms of Manjushri
25. Achala H. Offering Goddesses
26. Vajrapani

56 | BONHAMS