Page 57 - Bonhams, Indian and Himalayan Art New York July 23, 2020

851 852

851 852
A THANGKA OF VAJRAVARAHI A THANGKA OF VAJRADHARA
EASTERN TIBET, 19TH CENTURY EASTERN TIBET, PALPUNG STYLE, 19TH CENTURY
Distemper on cloth; with original silk mounts and wood dowel. Distemper on cloth.
HAR Himalayan Art Resources item no.16831 Himalayan Art Resources item no.16830
Image: 26 3/4 x 20 1/8 in. (67.9 x 51.1 cm); 29 1/4 x 20 1/8 in. (74.3 x 51.1 cm)
With silks: 51 x 30 1/2 in. (129.5 x 77.5 cm)
$5,000 - 7,000
$5,000 - 7,000 藏東 八蚌風格 十九世紀 金剛總持唐卡

藏東 十九世紀 金剛亥母唐卡 This colorful painting depicts Vajradhara, the primordial Buddha, who
is the root-deity of many Tantric Buddhist teachings. Above him,
The painting’s large central figure of Vajravarahi depicts the three-eyed emerging from a cluster of clouds, is Samantabhadra, who in some
goddess with a ritual chopper in her raised right hand and a blood- traditions is also considered the primordial Buddha. Samantabhadra
filled skullcup in her left. A staff (khatvanga) rests in the crook of her is seated in union with his consort, Samantabhadri, amid rainbow-
left arm. A sow’s head emerging from the right side of her crown helps colored streams of light. Against a hilly, verdant landscape, a retinue
identify her. Adorned with skulls and meticulously delineated bone of mahasiddhas, monastic teachers, and a Tibetan ruler enliven the
ornaments, Vajravarahi is presented as a fierce yet elegant protector composition.
of the Chakrasamvara Cycle of Tantras. She is accompanied by the
primordial Buddha Vajradhara above, and various vajrayoginis in each The palette and style follow a painting tradition developed by Situ
corner, including Naro Khechari, Maitri Khechari, Troma Nagmo, and Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1700–74), which was popularized at
Six-Armed Vajrayogini. Compare another East Tibetan thangka of Palpung Monastery in Eastern Tibet. Compare the palette and overall
Vajravarahi with a similar composition and treatment of its landscape composition, with similar grassy knolls and tonal gradients, to a White
(HAR 15494). Tara thangka published in Jackson, Patron and Painter, New York,
2009, p.114, fig.6.1. Also, see a Palpung-style Shadakshari thangka
Provenance for its similar treatment of the semi-transparent aureole and rainbow
Collection of Dr. Robert Schaller Jr., Seattle, acquired in India, 1960s light (HAR 77018).

Provenance
Private New York Collection, acquired in New York, 1990s

INDIAN, HIMALAYAN & SOUTHEAST ASIAN ART | 55