Page 146 - 2021 March 17th, Indian and Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Christie's New York City

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A PAINTING OF THE ARHAT KALIKA
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
36Ω x 23Ω in. (92.7 x 59.7 cm.)
$80,000-120,000
LITERATURE:
Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24651.

西藏 十八世紀 迦理迦尊者畫像
出版:
“喜馬拉雅藝術資源”（Himalayan Art Resources），編號24651。

The current painting depicts the arhat or luohan, Kalika as indicated by the
inscription at the center of the bottom edge of the painting, which translates
as "Homage to Arya Kalika." The figure can also be identified by the gold
earrings he holds, one of the iconographic details mentioned in the Sakya
liturgical verse: "On the good continent of Jambudvipa is the noble elder
Kalika, surrounded by 1,100 arhats; homage to the One holding a pair of gold
earrings." Arhats were the original followers of the Buddha, or important
monks who lived in the years following the Buddha’s death and helped to
transmit his teachings, although there is little historical record for their actual
existence (with the exception of Rahula, the Buddha’s son).

The present work belongs to a set of twenty-three paintings depicting the
Sixteen Great Arhats, the Buddha Shakyamuni, the attendant Dharmatala,
the patron Hvashang (see lot 452) and the Four Directional Guardians -
Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra, and Virudhaka. While the subject of
this painting set was quite popular, and numerous examples are known, the
presence of the red cartouche housing the inscription at the bottom of the
painting, and the painting style of the figures, trees, and fruit, help to associate
this particular painting with four other known paintings, all likely from the
same set.
The four paintings, all illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, depict the arhat,
Angaja (HAR item no. 24114), arhat, Nagasena (HAR item no.36291), arhat,
Kanakavatsa (HAR item no.36292), and arhat, Bakula (HAR item no.36293).
In the paintings of Bakula and Kanakavatsa, the red cartouche housing the
inscription is located at the center of the bottom edge of the painting, as found
in the present work; in the paintings of Angaja and Nagasena, the cartouche is
located underneath the central figure.

Compare the depiction of the fruit above the head of Kalika with the fruit
found in the painting of Angaja: both are painted in light shades of pink, green,
and orange, and are depicted as plump orbs with curled tips. The fruit in the
painting of Kalika are distinguished only by little brown spots.
Note the overexaggerated physiognomy of the attendant figure in the present
painting, including the wavy lines indicating the furrowed forehead and neck,
and the spiral motif delineating the shoulder muscle. Such an eccentric style
can be compared with the central figures of the other four paintings. See, for
example, the forehead and chest of Nagasena or the bridge of the nose of
Kanakavatsa. The attendant figures in the paintings of Bakula and Nagasena
in particular also mirror the exaggerated features of the attendant figure in the
present painting.