Lot 100
100
A RAKTAYAMARI FIVE-DEITY MANDALA
Sold to benefit the Rubin Museum acquisitions fund
A RAKTAYAMARI FIVE-DEITY MANDALA

TIBET, 18TH CENTURY

Details
A RAKTAYAMARI FIVE-DEITY MANDALA
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
The wrathful deity Raktayamari stands in embrace with Vajravetali over a black corpse and recumbent red buffalo, at the center of the two-dimensional circular diagram representing the top view of a three-dimensional celestial palace, with one face and two hands, the right holding a vajra and the left a skullcup, his hair flaming upwards, with large eyes and gaping mouth, Vajravetali standing with her left leg wrapped around her partner, and holding a skullcup in her left hand, both adorned in bone and jewel ornaments, silk garments, with a necklace of severed heads and a lower garment of tiger and leopard skins, surrounded by directional deities in embrace and geometric forms, gates and lotus petals within a circle of colored flames, with Buddhas, deities and Indian gurus in a blue sky above, and lamas, worldly guardian deities and other related figures set amidst a foliate landscape, below
Opaque pigments and gold on textile
15 x 12 in. (38.1 x 30.5 cm.)
Provenance
The Shelley and Donald Rubin Collection, acquired from Doris Wiener, 28 November 1994
Rubin Museum of Art, gifted from the above in 2006
Literature
Himalayan Art Resource (himalayanart.org), item no. 117

Brought to you by

Sandhya Jain-Patel
Sandhya Jain-Patel
+1 212 636 2162

Lot Essay

In the Sarma Schools there are three main forms of Raktayamari; Raktayamari as a the solitary figure; Raktayamari with five deities (depicted in the present work); and Raktayamari with Thirteen Deities of the Shridhara lineage. All of these are found in the 17th chapter of the Raktayamari Tantra.

The main Indian lineage includes: Vajradhara, Manjushri Yamari, Jnanadakini, mahasiddha Virupa, Dombi Heruka, Viratipa, Matigarbha, Gambhiramati, Vajrasana Ashokashri, Nishkalangka Devi, Revendra Prabha, Chag Lotsawa Choje Pal (Tibetan), etc. Many lineages of Raktayamari entered Tibet and most are traced back to Virupa.

More from Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art

View All
View All