Page 58 - Bonhams May 11th 2017 London Thangka Collection

20
A THANGKA OF TSONGKHAPA
Tibet, 19th century
Distemper on cloth, with silk mount, framed and glazed.
68 x 45 cm (26 6/8 x 17 6/8 in);
With cloth mount: 111.5 x 68 cm (43 7/8 x 26 6/8 in).
西藏十九世紀 宗喀巴上師像
Referenced 參考: Himalayan Art Resources item no.2164
Provenance 來源: The Jongen-Schleiper Collection of Fine Thangkas
Depicting Tsongkhapa in the centre surrounded by various vignettes
from his life story (each referenced by a cartouche). The lama
Tsongkhapa (1357-1419), the ‘Root Mentor, the actuality of all
Buddhas!’ as described in the First Panchen Lama’s poem, was
the founder of the Yellow hat Gelug Order. He was considered a
manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri. The stems
of lotus flowers that flank him in the painting support the Book of
Transcendent Wisdom and the Sword of Critical Wisdom, further
underpinning his relation with Manjushri.
For a similar thangka of Tsongkhapa and life scenes in the Rubin
Museum of Art, New York, attributed to the Amdo style, 19th century,
see D.P.Jackson, The Place of Provenance: Regional Styles in Tibetan
Painting New York, 2012, p.126, fig.6.13. See also another similar
painting, 19th century, illustrated by M.M.Rhie and R.Thurman, Worlds
of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York,
1999, pp.354-355.
A similar thangka was sold in our New York rooms, 17 September
2014, lot 62, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no.41031.

56 | BONHAMS