TIBET, 18TH CENTURY

Details

A large thangka of Amitabha with Avalokiteshvara and Green Tara
Tibet, 18th century
Each deity on lotus bases over stepped thrones with elaborate architectural toranas, backed by identical blue-and-gold aureoles with translucent auras, Amitabha at center seated in dhyanasana and holding the blue medicine bowl in his folded hands, dressed in multicolored patchwork robes, backed by a green nimbus and surmounted by a parasol, with Green Tara on the right and Eleven-Headed Avalokiteshvara on the left, all amidst a lush landscape
25¾ x 49 1/8 in. (65.4 x 124.8 cm.)

Provenance

With Albert Rudolph, Rudi Oriental Arts, New York, before 1973
Acquired by current owner in Portland in 1994

Literature

J. Watt, Himalayan Art Resource (www.himalayanart.org), HAR no. 60678

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Lot Essay

This painting is notable both for its unusual landscape format and for its extensive grouping of Buddhist deities and figures, see diagram at right for a complete list and location.

1. Amitabha Buddha and the Eight Great Bodhisattvas
2. Eleven-faced Avalokiteshvara
3. Green Tara with Marichi and Ekajati
4. The Three Lords of the World: Manjushri, Avalokiteshvara, and Vajrapani
5. Je Tsongkhapa with two students
6. Shakyamuni Buddha with Maitreya and Manjushri
7. Three long life deities: Amitayus, Ushnishavijaya, and White Tara
8. Vajrasattva, Akshobhya, and the Medicine Buddha
9. Vajravidarana
10. Vaishravana
11. Shadbhuja Mahakala
12. Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo

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