Page 23 - Chinese Art Bonhams San Francisco December 18, 2017

826 (reverse)

826 May there be good fortune in the country in which this icon dwells,
A THANGKA OF THE BON RELIGION’S FOUNDER, TONPA May there be great blessing in that fortunate region,
SHENRAB May disease afflicting men and cattle be averted,
Tibet, 17th century May rain fall at the right time,
Distemper on cloth; Tonpa Shenrab surrounded by 250 enlightened May the crops and livestock always be good,
beings, with a wrathful guardian at bottom center, sided by Jambhala May all sentient beings possess perfect happiness!
to its left and a series of lamas with identifying Tibetan inscriptions
followed by lay donors; verso with lengthy Tibetan ink inscription. Published
Himalayan Art Resources item no.100650 Pia and Louis Van der Wee, A Tale of Thangkas: Living with a
34 5/8 x 27 1/2in (88 x 70cm)
Collection, Antwerp, 1995, pp.130-2, fig. 62.
Per Kvaerne, The Bon Religion of Tibet: The Iconography of a Living
$10,000 - 15,000 Tradition, London, 1995, pp. 50-1, pl. 9.

The composition follows the format of a very popular set depicting the Exhibited
Four Transcendent Lords typically present in any Bon temple. Similar De Taal van de Thangka, Ethnographic Museum, Antwerp, 1995.
examples can be gleaned from Himalayan Art Resources set no.51,
dating between the 16th and 19th centuries. The three lamas near Provenance
the bottom left corner are identified (from left to right) as Kyungpo The Van Der Wee Collection, Belgium, acquired by 1995
Yungdrung Gyaltsen, Kyungpo drangson Yeshe Tsultrim, and Yangton
Rinchen Lhundrub. A beautiful prayer inscribed on the painting’s
reverse translates to:

FINE ASIAN WORKS OF ART | 21