Page 54 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

1019 *
A LARGE THANGKA OF SHAKYAMUNI BUDDHA
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
Distemper on cloth; with silk mounts and veil, and red lacquer and gold painted
dowel rod; recto with Tibetan inscriptions in gold identifying each of the figures
Himalayan Art Resources item no.4702
Image: 104 x 64.7 cm (41 x 25 1/2 in.);
With silks: 170 x 79 cm (67 x 31 in.)
HKD5,000,000 - 7,000,000

西藏 十八世紀 釋迦牟尼唐卡

Provenance
Private UK Collection, acquired in the 1990s

The Sage of the Sakyas
Written in collaboration with Jeff Watt and Karma Gellek,
November 2022 (abridged)

This remarkable thangka of Shakyamuni Buddha is executed with astonishing
detail and a brilliant vibrant palette that ranks among the highest level of Tibetan
painting from any school or period. The strict quality of line and exacting technical
execution are peered with imperial works produced for the Qing court and those
sent to the emperors as gifts. In fact, the closest known comparison to this
painting is a gift from a leader of the Gelug order to the Qianlong emperor (r. 1722-
97), now preserved in the Palace Museum, Beijing (fig. 1; HAR 34756). Like it, the
present thangka primarily follows in the Khyen-ri painting tradition that originated
with the visionary artist Khyentse Chenmo in Central Tibet in the 15th century,
though this painting also has a background characteristic of 18th-century Eastern
Tibetan painting. Despite the numerous inscriptions on the front and back of this
masterpiece, neither the artist nor his patron are mentioned. However, there can
be little doubt that the work was sponsored by a prominent patron or monastery,
with stylistic evidence indicating a close association with the scroll paintings of
Palpung monastery and the painted murals of the Jonang Puntsog Ling, which
flourished under one of Tibet’s great polymaths, Taranatha (1575-1634).

2
3 4

5 6

1
1 Shakyamuni Buddha
2 Padmasambhava
3 Vajra Pramardi
4 Ratnarshis
7 8 5 Amitayus Buddha
6 Maitreya Natha
7 Manjushri
8 Avalokiteshvara
9 10 9 Shariputra
10 Maudgalyayana

* If you wish to bid on this lot, please refer to page 1 for bidding information under ‘Registration Important Notice.
請參閱圖錄首頁之「重要登記須知」以參與此拍品之競投
52 | BONHAMS