Page 162 - 2019 September 11th Christie's New York Chiense Art Himalayan bronzes and art

THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLORADO COLLECTOR
387
A PAINTING DEPICTING BUDDHA SHAKYAMUNI AND CLASSIC
BUDDHIST TEACHING STORIES (AVADANA)
TIBET, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
Image 29 x 20Ω in. (73.7 x 52.1 cm.)

$30,000-50,000

The present painting of Buddha Shakyamuni is comprised of stories of the
historical Buddha’s previous lives, in which he perfected the many qualities
that ultimately brought him to enlightenment. The stories are labeled with
succinct titles and numbered eighty-one to eighty-nine. One of the most
easily recognizable, the story of Prince Mahasattva who sacrifced his body
to a hungry tigress and her cubs (number eighty-one), can be seen at top
center. The abbreviated titles of the stories that follow, depicted in clockwise
order are: King Moonlight, King of Shibi, King Aranemi, The Bodhisattva Who
Endues, King Simhakesara, The Knowledeable Master, Kumara Sudhana, and
The Blissful God. These stories come from the compendium of tales authored
by the Third Karmapa, Rangjung Dorje (1284-1339).
This eighteenth or nineteenth-century painting is intended as a teaching tool
with which Tibetan lamas can impart many life-cycles of Buddhist wisdom to
their students. Painted in a bright, saturated palette of primarily blue, green,
red, orange and gold with a Chinese-infuenced landscape, the particular
place of Tibetan provenance is dificult to discern.

Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 24520.

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