Page 50 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

1018
A THANGKA OF ARHAT ANGAJA
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
Distemper on cloth, with silk mounts; verso with a red cartouche and gold Tibetan
inscription in the foreground identifying the figure, translated: ‘Homage to Arya
Angaja!’
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 24114
Image: 92.5 x 60 cm (36 3/8 x 23 3/8 in.);
With silks: 148 x 84 cm (58 1/2 x 33 in.)

HKD600,000 - 800,000
西藏 十八世紀 因竭陀尊者唐卡

Surrounded within a paradisical landscape replete with fruit-bearing trees, thriving
wildflowers, and fresh, flowing water is Angaja, the first of the Sixteen Arhats, a
direct disciple of the historical Buddha Shakyamuni. Also known as, ‘The Elder,’
Angaja displays his two primary attributes: an incense bowl and a fly whisk, both
suspended by the chains of a golden staff he playfully balances between his
fingertips. With his back turned to the snow-capped peaks of Mount Kailasha,
he sits on an elaborate wooden throne while a monk offers him a lapiz-blue alms
bowl with ripened peaches.

This Angaja is from a set dedicated to the Sixteen Arhats of which at least
five other paintings are known, similarly honoring each central subject with a
complexion of gold. These others are Arhat Pantaka (HAR 21658); Arhat Kalika
(HAR 24651); Arhat Nagasena (HAR 36291); Arhat Kanakavatsa (HAR 36292);
and Arhat Bakula (HAR 36293). Among this group, the Angaja is one of the best,
excelling for the charismatic wizened portrait and posture of the arhat, as well as
for its excellent condition.

The artist painting this thangka and its set employs a creative mix of styles typically
associated with different regions. For example, the deep blue sky, the oversized
persimmons obscuring it, and the clouds hugging the mountain peaks represent
borrowings from Tsangri styles of West-Central Tibet, where these features are
perhaps best known in paintings from Tashi Lhunpo monastery (HAR set no.
2989). The gold-lined, blue-and-green rockwork forming unlikely cliffs and hilltops
incorporates some of the ‘New Menri’ style associated with the environs of Lhasa,
Central Tibet. The shaded green halo and grand red-and-gold throne, which is
redolent of both Chinese lacquerware and Newari scrollwork, are inspired by the
Kham-dri styles of Eastern Tibet. Moreover, the most telling clue of where this
set may have been produced is perhaps the red sun and the full moon in the
top corners, which follow an East Tibetan mode of representing these celestial
bodies, compared with a yellow sun and crescent moon in Central Tibet. Whether
a result of the artist wishing to showcase his knowledge and mastery of the
various traditions, or as an homage to the many styles of 18th-century Tibetan
scroll painting, the result is a vivid, dreamlike visage of an otherworldly paradise
where Arhat Angaja resides with deserving blissful contentment for the wisdom he
perfected under the Buddha’s instruction and the compassion he showed in its
further spread.

Provenance
Acquired in the early 20th century, by repute
Ferri-Drouot, Paris, 26 June 2015, lot 126

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