Page 81 - Bonhams IMages of Devotion, Hong Kong Nov 30 2022

As Rhie explains, “The convergence of politics, religion, and art became more
pronounced and internationally consequential... as Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism
become enfolded into the imperial strategy of the early Qing emperors of Manchu
China... By the early eighteenth century Emperor Kangxi (r. 1662-1722), second
ruler of the Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1911), had founded a number of major
Buddhist monasteries in Inner Mongolia as part of his strategy to consolidate Qing
power in the northern and western border regions of the empire. In the second
half of the eighteenth century this effective strategy was extended, invigorated,
modified, and solidified by his grandson, the fourth ruler, Emperor Qianlong (r.
1735-95). Though these two long-lived emperors appear to have personally
embraced the Tibetan form of Buddhism, their actions also were strongly
motivated by the politics of empire building and the desire to control the feared
Mongol clans.” (Thurman & Rhie, A Shrine for Tibet, 2009, pp. 29-30)

The present triad borrows from the Zanabazar school. Ushering in a period of
artistic renewal in Mongolia, Bogdo Gegen Zanabazar (1635–1723) was a chosen
leader descended from Chinggis Khan, an incarnate lama, and a true Renaissance
man. He was both the most powerful political and religious figure among the
independent Khalkha Mongols—instrumental in their decision to give allegiance
to the Manchu Qing in 1691—and a visionary artist who created a workshop of
supreme sophistication. Before establishing his workshop, Zanabazar sought
religious training in Tibet from both the Fifth Dalai Lama at the Potala, and the
Panchen Lama at Tashi Lhunpo, and after visiting various monasteries in the Tsang
region, he brought back skilled craftsmen on his return to Mongolia. With the
techniques that he mastered, he honed one of the most sublime sculptural styles
of the time—an eclectic synthesis of Indo-Nepalese sensuality, Tibetan power, and
Chinese precision, infused with his own unique inventiveness.

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