Page 60 - Bonhams Indian and Himalayan Art March 2016 New York

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A GOLDGROUND THANGKA OF VAJRAPANI
Tibet, 18th century
Distemper on cloth; recto with identifying Tibetan inscriptions in red;
verso with Tibetan inscriptions in black ink; with original silk-brocaded mount.
Image: 24 1/2 x 17 1/4 in. (62.3 x 44 cm);
With silks: 42 x 22 1/2 in. (106.7 x 57.2 cm)
$40,000 - 60,000

西藏 十八世紀 金剛手菩薩唐卡

Identified by inscription, ‘Vajrapani Five Garuda’ stands in warrior pose at the center of
this radiant thangka. He is entrusted by the Buddha to protect the tantras. In the fluid
brushstrokes that surround him, five garudas bite the heads of captured snakes.
They echo Vajrapani’s own imagery trampling on spirited green and pink boidae,
and wearing snakes for a garland and hair tie.

The back of this thangka is beautifully inscribed in Tibetan:
‘Secret Lord of all the Victorious Ones,
By the power of creating this Bhagavan Vajrapani,
Pacify all harm and illness
Caused by earth spirits, nagas and mountain gods;
Bring victory over the four maras.’

As indicated by the inscription, the goal of the practice associated with this thangka is
to defeat harmful forces personified by serpents among others. This helps to explain the
iconography juxtaposing Vajrapani and Garuda, the sworn enemy of the naga serpent race.

The painting and practice may also be related to the ‘Threefold Wrathful One’ – a divine
composite being of Vajrapani, Hayagriva, and Garuda, according to the tradition of Lodrag
Drubchen Lekyi Dorje (1326-1401). ‘The Vajrapani-Hayagriva-Garuda deity specifically
manifests to protect sentient beings from naga harm...’ (Lama Zopa Rinpoche, Teachings from
the Vajrasattva Retreat, Boston, 1999, p. 305)

Again identified by inscription, Black Jambhala appears at bottom center holding a ‘scented’
kapala and a bulbous black mongoose disgorging pearls into an offering bowl. As a wealth
deity his presence is in harmony with the painting’s lavish use of gold and the sophisticated
silk-brocaded mount with a kalasa-bearing elephant central medallion.

Referenced
HAR - himalayanart.org/items/61455

Provenance
Private English Collection, 1970s/80s-present

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