Page 44 - September 20th 2021, Indian and Himalayan Art Christie's NYC

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A RARE PAINTING OF NANAM YESHE DE, ONE OF
THE TWENTY-FIVE DISCIPLES OF PADMASAMBHAVA
CENTRAL OR EASTERN TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
34Ω x 24Ω in. (87.6 x 62.2 cm.)
$150,000-250,000

LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24673.
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西藏中部/東部 十八世紀 尚•益西德畫像 （蓮花生二十五弟子之一） 2

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This rare painting depicts Nanam Yeshe De, one of the twenty-five 5
disciples of Padmasambhava, according to the Nyingma tradition of
Tibetan Buddhism. Nanam Yeshe De is typically found as a secondary
figure in single or multi-painting compositions of Padmasambhava’s
disciples, and it is rare to see him depicted as the primary figure, as he
is in the present work. It is likely, therefore, that the current painting was
originally part of a set of twenty-five or more paintings depicting the
disciples of Padmasambhava. 6
Nanam Yeshe De (mid eighth-early ninth century) is identified based on 1
a small inscription below the central figure; he is depicted in Nyingma
paintings in a few different appearances, but is typically shown flying, as
he is in the present work; here, he wears a red pandita hat and holds a 9
vajra and a ghanta. Yeshe De of the Nanam clan was contemporaneous 7
to the three most important figures in Tibet's earliest Buddhist history:
king Trisong Detsen, an early royal patron of Buddhism; Santaraksita,
the founder of Tibet’s first Buddhist monastery; and of course, 8
Padmasambhava. He was an important translator in the period when 10
Buddhism was first transmitted to Tibet, translating as many as three
hundred Indian texts into Tibetan. Although much of his biographical
information is now forgotten, his incorporation into the group of The inscriptions on the painting can be translated as (numbered according to diagram):
Padmasambhava’s disciples meant that he became an important figure 1. “Dharma Sky-Soarer Nanam Yeshe”
in the Nyingma sect. His ability to fly was said to have stemmed from his
ability to visualize the deities of the Eight Pronouncements, and through 2. “Binasa consuming beer from the tavern”
his realization of the illusory nature of reality. 3. “Releasing the sun, because [he received] free beer”
4. “Dombi Heruka”
Surrounding the central figure of Nanam Yeshe De are several scenes 5. “Asking the seven-time-born Brahmin with conch earrings in person”
from the mythologized life of Padmasambhava, according to the
compiled traditions of the Nyingma sect. His experiences in the land of 6. “Indrabhuti; Divine emanation Binasa; Binasa"
Zahor, for instance, or his meditation in the Maratika Cave with Princess 7. "Detering the army at the border of Zahor”
Mandarava, are illustrated through small, inscribed vignettes. Similarly, 8. “Vision of the assembly of deities in the Maratika Cave”
the Nyingma tradition incorporated Indian mahasiddhas into its practice, 9. [illegible]
making them emanations or reincarnations of Padmasambhava; the 10. “Meeting together”
present work, therefore, depicts the mahasiddhas Dombi Heruka and
Binasa. Presumably, the larger set of twenty-five paintings to which this
work belongs would have included hundreds of such scenes.