Page 17 - March 23 2022 Boinghams NYC Indian and Himalayan Art

TIBETAN PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION
OF RALPH GLASGAL (LOTS 401-416)

TIBETAN PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF RALPH GLASGAL
(LOTS 401-416)
406
A PAINTING OF TSONGKHAPA AMIDST A FIELD FOR THE
ACCUMULATION OF MERIT
TIBET, STYLE OF TASHI LHUNPO MONASTERY, 18TH CENTURY
30 x 18æ in. (76.2 x 47.6 cm.)
$8,000-12,000
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24730.

The present painting depicts Je Tsongkhapa, founder of the Gelug order, at
the center of a refuge field, an elaborate composition in which a multitude
of deities and teachers of a particular practice are illustrated as a single
assembly. Tsongkhapa is seated with his right hand raised to his chest, at
the center of which is a diminutive image of Buddha Shakyamuni, and his
left hand supports a begging bowl. The field is separated into various tiers,
with the incarnations of the Panchen Lama lineage in the sky at the top of
the painting. Indian mahasiddhas and panditas can be found in the boughs
of the tree above Tsongkhapa, and meditational deities, the Eight Great
Bodhisattvas, the Thirty-Five Confession Buddhas, the Sixteen Great Arhats,
and protector and wealth deities can be found in the branches to his left, right,
and below. The Four Guardian Kings float in clouds above the pool at bottom,
from which emerges Mount Sumeru and the four continents at bottom right,
and figures holding the Seven Jewels of Royalty are found in the rocks in the
lower left corner.
The composition of the present painting was originally conceived by Konchog
Gyaltsen during the time of the Third Panchen Lama. It was subsequently
carved into a woodblock print at Tashi Lhunpo monastery, probably in the
eighteenth century, from which numerous paintings, including the present
work, were based off of. The inscription running along the bottom is found
in the woodblock print, and translates to “Homage to the guru of the system
of Kongchog Gyaltsen, this image of the stage of yoga of Lobsang Dorje-
chang’s [Tsongkhapa]. May its virtue help all sentient beings attain the level
of accomplishment of Lobsang Dorje-chang [Tsongkhapa]!”. Compare the
present painting with another directly modeled after the woodblock print,
illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 74089, as well as a painting
in the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art (acc. no. F1997.41.7), illustrated
on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 571, which deviates only slightly from
the woodblock design.

西藏 十八世紀 宗喀巴像
出版:
“喜馬拉雅藝術資源” (Himalayan Art Resources), 編號24730

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