Lot Essay
On the upper border of upper silk mounting is written Bir.ba.pa, nr.1, left (side of series)
The lengthly inscription on the reverse consists of mantras and the buddhist creed in Tibetan (first seven lines) and in Sanskrit, but in Tibetan script (last three lines).
The thirty-six surrounding figures representing, from the upper left- hand corner:
1. bsod.snoms.pa 19. nam.mkhah.dpal.bzang
2. ngas.khro.da.pa 20. 'jam.pahi.rdo
3. dompi.pa 21. 'jam.pahi.rdo
4. illegible (Nairatmya) 22. 'jam.dbyangs.brtan.pahi.'khor
5. Vajradhara (no inscription) 23. thub.rdo.rje.gdan.la.phyag.htshal
6. rnal.'byong.dpal.phyug 24. 'jam.dbyangs.brtan.pahi.'khor
7. ya.la.la.(v)bajra 25. 'jam.dbyangs.brtan.pahi.'khor
8. gaya.dha.ra.pa 26. rje.dkog.lhun.grub
9. mi.thub.zla.pa 27. mkhas.btsun.dpal.rgyal
10. he.(v)bajra 28. mkhas.kun.dgah.mdzad.bzang.pahi.
phrim.las.skyod (1382-1444)
11. saskya-yesx.pa.(1182-1251) 29. dpal.ldan.tshul.khrims (14th C.) 12. zad.dgon.pa.pa 30. bgrag.phug.pa
13. slon.rin.po.che 31. blo.gros.chon.po.bstan.pahi.
rgyal.chen.mtshan.'dzin
(1235-1280)
14. 'khro.kun.dgah.mdzad.yon 32. rje.pa.tsun.rin.po.che (1147-
tan.rgyal.mtshan.'dzem 1216)
15. dkun.mchog.dpal 33. sa.chen.kun.snin (1092-1158)
16. bsod.nams.chen.po.thar. 34. se.ston
pahi.rgyal.mtshan.'dzin
17. bud.dha.sri (1173-1225) 35. dpah.bo.xx.rdo (Viravajra)
18. kun.dgah.blo.gros 36. he.(v) bajra
Most names end with la.na.mo, which is an expression of salutation.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
35 36 10 11
34 12
33 13
32 14
31 15
30 16
29 17
28 18
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19
The thang-ka under review and the next lot are two of a series dispersed in various public and private collections. The series was sold in the early sixties in New York. Apparently there were circa thirty lineage thang-kas in this group. To my knowledge twenty-one have been published or its whereabouts are known. Few are in public collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Los Angeles (1); Museum of Ethnography, Leiden (3), Metropolitan Museum, New York (2) and the Museum of Ethnography, Zurich (1). Others are in known private collections like Essen (1); Ford (1); Fournier (1); Henss (2); Zimmerman (1) and one in a private collection, New York. Additional ones have been dispersed via Burawoy, Paris (2), Loudmer, Paris (1) and Sotheby's London (4).
If one adds both thang-kas to the offered via Christie's Amsterdam, twenty-three of the circa thirty are now known. Obvious it would be interesting to know the whereabouts of the remaining ones in order to establish its definite iconographic sequence, as each is numbered on its upper silk mounting. Although not all of them remained preserved with its original mounts, luckily quite a few do. However it should still be possible to work out the sequence, as the lamas, are placed in a fixed order, whether on the left or right side of the central figure and whether at upper or lower level. It looks like that the lineage of Sa.skya lamas are turning clockwise in a fixed position!
Most paintings have a lamas as a central figure. Only three out of these twenty-three do not represent lamas. Two are published in P. Pal Tibetan Paintings, Basel, 1984, pl. 39 (Nairatmya) and pl. 40 (mahasiddha Dgmarunpa). The third, mahasidha Birvapa, is the subject of this present research.
See colour illustration and front cover
The lengthly inscription on the reverse consists of mantras and the buddhist creed in Tibetan (first seven lines) and in Sanskrit, but in Tibetan script (last three lines).
The thirty-six surrounding figures representing, from the upper left- hand corner:
1. bsod.snoms.pa 19. nam.mkhah.dpal.bzang
2. ngas.khro.da.pa 20. 'jam.pahi.rdo
3. dompi.pa 21. 'jam.pahi.rdo
4. illegible (Nairatmya) 22. 'jam.dbyangs.brtan.pahi.'khor
5. Vajradhara (no inscription) 23. thub.rdo.rje.gdan.la.phyag.htshal
6. rnal.'byong.dpal.phyug 24. 'jam.dbyangs.brtan.pahi.'khor
7. ya.la.la.(v)bajra 25. 'jam.dbyangs.brtan.pahi.'khor
8. gaya.dha.ra.pa 26. rje.dkog.lhun.grub
9. mi.thub.zla.pa 27. mkhas.btsun.dpal.rgyal
10. he.(v)bajra 28. mkhas.kun.dgah.mdzad.bzang.pahi.
phrim.las.skyod (1382-1444)
11. saskya-yesx.pa.(1182-1251) 29. dpal.ldan.tshul.khrims (14th C.) 12. zad.dgon.pa.pa 30. bgrag.phug.pa
13. slon.rin.po.che 31. blo.gros.chon.po.bstan.pahi.
rgyal.chen.mtshan.'dzin
(1235-1280)
14. 'khro.kun.dgah.mdzad.yon 32. rje.pa.tsun.rin.po.che (1147-
tan.rgyal.mtshan.'dzem 1216)
15. dkun.mchog.dpal 33. sa.chen.kun.snin (1092-1158)
16. bsod.nams.chen.po.thar. 34. se.ston
pahi.rgyal.mtshan.'dzin
17. bud.dha.sri (1173-1225) 35. dpah.bo.xx.rdo (Viravajra)
18. kun.dgah.blo.gros 36. he.(v) bajra
Most names end with la.na.mo, which is an expression of salutation.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
35 36 10 11
34 12
33 13
32 14
31 15
30 16
29 17
28 18
27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19
The thang-ka under review and the next lot are two of a series dispersed in various public and private collections. The series was sold in the early sixties in New York. Apparently there were circa thirty lineage thang-kas in this group. To my knowledge twenty-one have been published or its whereabouts are known. Few are in public collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Arts, Los Angeles (1); Museum of Ethnography, Leiden (3), Metropolitan Museum, New York (2) and the Museum of Ethnography, Zurich (1). Others are in known private collections like Essen (1); Ford (1); Fournier (1); Henss (2); Zimmerman (1) and one in a private collection, New York. Additional ones have been dispersed via Burawoy, Paris (2), Loudmer, Paris (1) and Sotheby's London (4).
If one adds both thang-kas to the offered via Christie's Amsterdam, twenty-three of the circa thirty are now known. Obvious it would be interesting to know the whereabouts of the remaining ones in order to establish its definite iconographic sequence, as each is numbered on its upper silk mounting. Although not all of them remained preserved with its original mounts, luckily quite a few do. However it should still be possible to work out the sequence, as the lamas, are placed in a fixed order, whether on the left or right side of the central figure and whether at upper or lower level. It looks like that the lineage of Sa.skya lamas are turning clockwise in a fixed position!
Most paintings have a lamas as a central figure. Only three out of these twenty-three do not represent lamas. Two are published in P. Pal Tibetan Paintings, Basel, 1984, pl. 39 (Nairatmya) and pl. 40 (mahasiddha Dgmarunpa). The third, mahasidha Birvapa, is the subject of this present research.
See colour illustration and front cover