An Important Thangka of Bhaishajyaguru

CENTRAL TIBET, 14TH CENTURY

Details

An Important Thangka of Bhaishajyaguru
Central Tibet, 14th century
The Buddha seated in dhyanasana on a lotus throne over a stepped lotus plinth, a begging bowl in one hand and a golden lotus in the other, the hems of his robes, the outline of his aura and his halo embellished with pastiglia, flanked by standing bhodisattvas, surrounded by registers of various golden deities
39½ x 30½ in. (100.3 x 77.5 cm.)

Literature

M. Rhie and R. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Tokyo, 1997, p. 127 and 200-201, cat. no. 148

Exhibited

Bonn, Kunst- und Ausstellungshalle der Bundesrepublik Deutschland; Barcelona, Fundacio "la Caixa"; Tokyo, Tobu Museum of Art; The Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art and Chiba City Museum of Art, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, May 1996 - September 1997, cat. no. 148
Taipei, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, January - March 1998, p. 61

Lot Essay

The central figure is one of a set of Eight Medicine Buddhas, and the other seven are seated in the top row with Manjushri at the right. Flanking the central figure are Suryaprabha and Chandraprabha, and surrounding them are depictions of the fifty other figures in the retinue of the Fifty-one Deity Mandala of the Medicine Buddha. In the bottom two registers are the twelve yaksha generals -- seven on the upper row and five on the lower row -- with the Four Heavenly Kings in the bottom corners. Centered at the base of the throne is Padmasambhava.

The surface of this thangka is richly decorated with raised gilt pastiglia along the outline of the blue throne cushion and in the multicolored border around the Buddha's green halo. The verso is painted with an inscription in stupa form.

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