Page 114 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Thangka Collection

48
A THANGKA OF NARO DAKINI
Tibet, early 20th century
Distemper on cloth, framed and glazed.
74 x 54 cm (29 1/8 x 21 2/8 in).
西藏二十世紀初 空行母像
Referenced 參考: Himalayan Art Resources item no.2210
Provenance 來源: The Jongen-Schleiper Collection of Fine Thangkas
The deity Naro Dakini personifies complete Buddhahood and
wisdom. Her brilliant red body represents her ability to transform
lust, sexual energy and egoistic passion into compassion for all. She
holds a kapala in her left hand, trampling upon Kalarati and Bhairava
representing the delusions of attachment, hatred and ignorance that
must be overcome to attain entry into the deity’s Pure Land. There is
a three-storied palace resting on a large mandala within the Buddha
realm of Akanishta, populated by the Sakya teachers and Vajradhara,
the primordial Buddha, holding a vajra and a bell crossed at the heart.
The depiction of this thangka was probably based on the description
of the Dakini’s heavenly realm contained in ‘The staircase Ascending
to Kechara’, compiled by Ngorchen Kunchog Lhundrup in the 16th
century.
Compare with a similar thangka of Naro Dakini, depicted within a
palace and an outer mandala, 19th century, in the Rubin Museum
of Art, New York, ref.no.P1998.3.1, illustrated on Himalayan Art
Resources, item no.318.

112 | BONHAMS