TIBET, CIRCA 1668-69

Details

A Gold Ground Thangka of Mahavairocana
Tibet, circa 1668-69
Very finely painted depicting the four-headed Mahavairocana seated on an elaborate throne within a floral aureole, surrounded by numerous smaller depictions of Buddha; inscribed in Tibetan Homage to the Bhagavan Vairochana and on reverse in 14 lines, also bearing a gold placement inscription from a set of five; mounted in a silk brocade
Image: 34½ x 22¾ in. (87.5 x 57.7 cm.)

Provenance

Japanese Collection, 1921

Lot Essay

The inscription on reverse states that the thangka was made for the funerary rites for the Mongolian Tenzin Dayan Gyalpo (1596-1668 or 1669), son of Gushri Khan. The verses were composed by the Great Fifth Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (1617-82) and written by his scribe. Also recorded in the inscription is the name of the court painter, Palgon, and the fact that it was painted in the Menri style. It further lists the principal donors as the aristocratic Ragkhashar family which was historically associated with Taklung Monastery.
Gushri Khan (1582-1655) was a Qoshot Mongol chieftain who united various Mongol factions and installed the Great Fifth Dalai Lama to power in Lhasa as temporal leader of Tibet in 1642. This alliance allowed the Gelugpa hierarchs to assert their power over the Kagyus and in effect rule Tibet.

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