Page 59 - Christies Indian and Himalayan Art IRVING collection Sept 24 2020 NYC

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTOR

731
A PAINTING OF SARVAVID
MAHA VAIROCHANA
TIBET, 17TH-18TH CENTURY
35 x 24æ in. (88.9 x 62.9 cm.)
$25,000-35,000

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, New York, 1990s, by repute.
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24630.
The present painting depicts the deity, Maha
Vairochana, as he appears according to the
Sarvadurgati Parishodhana Tantra. It is possible
this painting was once part of a set of three
that depicted the full retinue of the Thirty-
Seven Deity Mandala of all the Families of Great
Vairochana, but arranged schematically instead of
in mandala-form. Compare the present painting
with a seventeenth-century Tibetan painting of
the Sarvavid Maha Vairochana mandala in the
Lostand Foundation, published on Himalayan Art
Resources (item no. 90402); while the Lostand
Foundation example is arranged in a typical
mandala fashion, both works demonstrate similar
treatments of the deities, landscape, and overall
color palette.

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE NEW YORK COLLECTOR

732
A GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF MAITREYA
TIBET, 17TH-18TH CENTURY
10Ω in. (26.7 cm.) high
$50,000-70,000

PROVENANCE:
Private collection, New York, 1990s, by repute.
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24622.
Seated on a low throne with his legs pendent and
resting on a diminutive lotus base and his hands
held in dharmachakramudra, the current figure
represents the future buddha, Maitreya, preaching
in the Tushita Heaven. Maitreya awaits the day
when the teachings of the Gautama Buddha,
Shakyamuni, are forgotten by earth's inhabitants,
at which point he will descend from the Tushita
Heaven to become a buddha. The present figure,
richly gilt and heavily cast, exudes reassurance
through his benevolent facial expression and
graceful gesture.

732
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