Page 30 - Bonhams FINE CHINESE ART London November 2 2021

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A RARE LARGE YELLOW-GROUND SILK BROCADE Finely woven with gold a profusion of blossoming lotus issuing from
‘VAJRADHATU’ SQUARE MANDALA scrolling tendrils and Lanca characters from ‘Offering of the Universe’,
Early 15th century a Sanskrit mandala, the present panel would have been used as a
Finely woven with large blossoming lotus issuing from a continuous visual support for meditation purposes. The characters read from
meander and scrolling foliage, each flower supporting a different the centre, then to the east, south, west and north, and finally the
Tibetan character executed in gold script woven in flat gilded paper, other directions.
forming the ‘Offering of the Universe’ mantra reading from the centre
to the east, south, west and north, all on a yellow ground and within a ‘Lampas’ weave is amongst the most complex forms of weave
double gilt border. structure, requiring an elaborate and heavy loom. It was introduced
190.5cm (75 1/2in) x 194cm (76 3/8in). to China from the west during the Yuan dynasty, and was only used
in professional workshops and in particular those catering to the
£30,000 - 50,000 Imperial Court. Such meditation hangings were made as Imperial gifts
CNY270,000 - 450,000 to abbots of leading Tibetan monasteries and to Buddhist monasteries
within China. The practice of giving such gifts was at its peak in the
十五世紀早期 黃地織金剛界曼荼羅 14th and 15th centuries; see Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., Chinese, Indian
and South-East Asian Textiles, London, 2007, pp.10-11.
Provenance: Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., London
An English private collection For Tibetans, and Buddhists in general, the east direction is the
West’s south direction, indicating that the beginning of the weaving
Published and Illustrated: Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., Chinese, Indian was regarded as the east, where the sun rises, and the finish of
and South-East Asian Textiles, London, 2007, pp.10-11. the weaving, at the top, was the West, where the sun sets and the
weaving ends. A weaving would thus be interpreted as symbolic of
來源：倫敦古董商Jacqueline Simcox Ltd. life: a work from start to finish, or from life to death, or from
英國私人收藏 sunrise to sunset.

出版著錄：Jacqueline Simcox Ltd.，《Chinese, Indian and South- Shown at the centre is the seed syllable for Vairocana, one of the five
East Asian Textiles》，倫敦，2007年，頁10-11 Dhyani Buddhas, with the four other buddhas in the group placed
around the centre, interspersed with four goddesses who act as
consorts to the Buddhas, and with four further goddesses, acting as
assistants, placed in the corners. There would have been eight offering
goddesses in all.

Image courtesy of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
New York

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28 | BONHAMS please refer to paragraphs 7 & 8 of the Notice to Bidders at the back of the catalogue.