Page 58 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

These meticulous details and the technical precision of the throne’s architecture
can be compared to the finest Chinese imperial commissions of painting and
porcelain during the 17th and 18th centuries. Moreover, a strong affinity with the
material culture of the Qing dynasty is displayed throughout this painting. For
example, the layering of elements, exacting scrollwork, and phoenixes are redolent
of a Qianlong yangcai “phoenix scene” revolving vase now in the Lin Jian Wei
Collection, Singapore (Raski & Rawson, China, The Three Emperors, 1662-1795,
London, 2006, p. 297, no. 222). Behind the present thangka’s central Buddha,
the throne is also backed by a pale-pink cloth with multi-colored ruyi-shaped
clouds that resemble a textile fragment preserved in the Capital Museum, Beijing
(Mei & Tao, Textiles and Embroideries, Beijing, 1999, p. 168, no. 127). The floral
clusters ornamenting the Buddha’s green nimbus and blue aureole also draw from
a leitmotif in fine Qing textiles, reams of which were dispatched by the emperors
to prominent Tibetan monasteries within the web of gift exchange that reinforced
their diplomatic relations and likely also provided the context for this painting’s
creation.

The known thangka most closely related to this painting resides in the Palace
Museum, Beijing, and is believed to have been a gift from the Third Panchen
Lama, Lobzang Palden Yeshe (1738-80) to the Qianlong emperor (r. 1722-97)
(fig. 1). Described as “an understated tour de force”, it is the central Shakyamuni
painting of a Sixteen Arhat set (Jackson, A Revolutionary Artist of Tibet, New
York, 2018, p. 241). Comparisons between it and the present painting abound.
In addition to the eccentric treatment of one of the lions already mentioned,
there is a resemblance among the offerings laid out on the shrine tables and the
gilded platforms they rest upon. The components of either throne also mirror one
another, while offering distinct variations on a whimsical characteristic of Khyen-ri
painting, which is to compose a little asymmetry within the ornate throne backs
(ibid., p. 242); the boys riding the dragons look in different directions. Another
shared feature continued from Khyentse Chenmo’s work is the strap and clasp
used to secure the Buddha’s robe over one shoulder. This can be traced back
to the artist’s revolutionary murals at Gongkar Chode monastery in Central Tibet,
which established his eponymous painting tradition (ibid., p. 223, fig. 9.2).

See this lot’s dedicated printed catalog for the full version of this essay.

Fig. 1
A thangka of Shakyamuni Buddha
Interior of China, 18th century
H. 99 cm L. 59 cm
Qing Court Collection
After Wang (ed.), Classics of the Forbidden City:
Thangka Paintings in the Collection of the Palace
Museum, 2011, p. 84-5, pl. 56.

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