Page 70 - CHRISTIE'S Himalayan and SOutheast Asian Works of Art 09/13/17

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TWO BLOCK PRINTS ON YELLOW SILK DEPICTING

KALACHAKRA AND THE FIFTH DALAI LAMA

TIBET, 19TH CENTURY

Black ink on yellow silk

20Ω x 11√ in. (52 x 30.4 cm.) Fifth Dalai Lama

33¡ x 21¬ (85 x 55 cm.) Kalachakra (2) 641

$3,000-5,000 642
A SILK APPLIQUÉ WITH KSHETRAPALA
西藏 十九世紀 絹本喇嘛及勝樂金剛雕版印刷一組兩件
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
PUBLISHED 94Ω x 52 in. (240 x 132 cm.)
$30,000-50,000
Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24341
西藏 十八世紀 絲綢貼花騎黑熊唐卡
Originating in China as early as 200 AD, woodblock printing was adopted as
an artistic technique throughout east Asia. The two present examples from PROVENANCE
Tibet are printed on coveted yellow silk. The frst depicts Kalachakra in union
with Vishvamata, the principal deities of the Sanskrit Kalachakra Tantra, a Stuttgart Art Market, 1990s.
text of complex Tibetan Buddhist teachings and practices. The couple stands Acquired by the present owner from the above, 2017.
encircled by a fery halo with Shakyamuni Buddha seated above faked by
Raja Chandra Bhadra on the left and Vidyadhara Manjuskirit on the right. PUBLISHED
The bottom corners depict the bird-headed Shabala Garuda on the left and
Vishvamata on the right with an abundance of oferings between them. Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 24342

The second work depicts the ffth Dalai Lama seated on a lavish throne with Kshetrapala is one of fve retinue fgures belonging to the practices of
lotus blossoms, auspicious symbols and oferings before him. Two lines of Shadbhuja Mahakala originating with the Shangpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan
Tibetan script at the bottom translate to: Buddhism. He rides atop a bear and holds a curved knife and skull cup. The
present depiction of Kshetrapala is likely from a larger textile that may have
Lobsang enjoys the teaching at celestial Garden, incurred damaged. This salvaged portion retains the colorful details of the
The image of dharma king who is well verse in scripture and philosophy, deity and the damask dragon motif on the rich blue silk ground. The quality
Beautifully adorned with all the major and minor marks, of the silk and the presence of a dragon motif indicates the textile was likely
Prostrate to the nature of the three jewels. commissioned for an imperial patron. For a painted example of Kshetrapala
This portrait was blessed 100 times by the lord himself. see a thangka in the Museum der Kulturen, Basel (HAR item no. 3314490).

Compare the fgure of Kalachakra with another depiction of Kalachakra from
a set of block prints on gold silk depicting the secret biography of the Seventh
Dalai Lama in Tibet House, New Delhi (HAR 71959).