Page 24 - Chinese Art Bonhams San Francisco December 18, 2017

PROPERTY FROM A CANADIAN COLLECTION
827
A THANGKA OF MANING MAHAKALA
Tibet, circa 18th century
Distemper on cloth; the furious deity clothed in voluminous flowing
robes and supporting a flaming lance with pennant in his right hand
and a poisoned heart in his left, striding upon two human figures and
surrounded by flames, all on a black background; now framed and
glazed.
19 1/4in (49cm) height of image exclusive of brocade mount
32 1/2in (82.5cm) total height of frame

$8,000 - 12,000
Survived in bright colors, this painting depicts Maning Mahakala with
vigorous and fine brush strokes. A protector of the Nyingma School,
he is also known as the Eunuch Lord or The Glorious Lord of Pristine
Awareness. Three of his main attendant deities joined Mahakala at the
bottom of the composition, including Rahula on the left, with his lower
body in the form of a snake, Raudrantika riding atop a black horse in
the middle, and Vajra Sadhu riding a brown goat on the right. The busy
scene is further intensified by an altar of bodily offerings and fighting
animals among the deities.

Provenance
Leo Van der Veen Collection, Canada, before 1975
Thence by descent

827

828
A THANGKA OF A NYINGMA REFUGE FIELD
Tibet, 19th century
Distemper on cloth; depicting the lineage’s ‘lotus-born’ root guru,
Padmasambhava, in typical attire and seated posture with a slightly
wrathful demeanor, surrounded by deities and gurus surmising most
likely the Dorje Drag’s order and teaching’s ‘accumulation of merit’.
24in (61cm) height of image exclusive of brocade mount
34 1/2in (87.5cm) total height of frame

$3,000 - 5,000
Whereas refuge fields of the Gelug order are quite common in the 18th
and 19th century, this is a rarer Nyingma example most likely of the
Dorje Drag of Central Tibet, who along with the Mindroling tradition
comprise the two most prominent Nyingma schools.

Provenance
Leo Van der Veen Collection, Canada, before 1975
Thence by descent

828

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