.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This early painting from central Tibet depicts Shadakshari Lokeshvara surrounded by Amoghapasha Five Deities and his teacher Amitabha. Among all the iconographic forms of Avalokiteshvara, the four-armed manifestation is the most popular within Tibet and around the Himalayan regions. He is seated upon a lotus throne adorned with a luminous rainbow nimbus around his body. Adorned in rich garments and jewels, his body is white in color. The first two hands are pressed together at his heart holding a jewel signifying his complete enlightenment. He holds crystal rosary beads in his upper right hand and a lotus flower in his upper left, signifying purity of body, speech, and mind.
Surrounding Shadakshari Lokeshvara are the Amoghapasha Five Deities, a common configuration related to the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. On the top register are Red Hayagriva and Black Ekajati, and on the lower register are White Bhrikuti, White Lokesvara, and Red Amoghapasa. The set of five deities is recorded in the treatise, Great Gods of Tibetan Buddhism (bod brgyud nang bstan lha tshogs chen mo) which says: “Lord of compassion Noble Lokeshvara, Amoghapasha and wrathful Hayagriva, Ekajati and goddess Bhrikuti; Noble Five Deities gathered together, I bow.”
The vibrant color palette and composition echoes thirteenth-century Sakya or Kagyu painting styles from Central Tibet. The distinctive jetted triangular throne-back, form of the lotus base, along with his facial features all point to a strong Newari influence and was likely produced by Tibetan artists working in this idiom. Looking closely, the applied gold is three-dimensional, rising above the canvas. The gold beadlets are a distinctive detail of early-style works that contrast the flat application of gold in later paintings. A fine early example of Tibetan painting preserved in its original context and form, the painting retains its original indigo brocade framing along with a tie-dyed silk coverlet or thang khebs, used to protect the painting surface when not in use.
Compare the present work with a late thirteenth or early fourteenth-century painted crown leaf depicting Vairochana in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1997.152), which displays similar treatment of the body and the rainbow-hued prabha.
Surrounding Shadakshari Lokeshvara are the Amoghapasha Five Deities, a common configuration related to the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. On the top register are Red Hayagriva and Black Ekajati, and on the lower register are White Bhrikuti, White Lokesvara, and Red Amoghapasa. The set of five deities is recorded in the treatise, Great Gods of Tibetan Buddhism (bod brgyud nang bstan lha tshogs chen mo) which says: “Lord of compassion Noble Lokeshvara, Amoghapasha and wrathful Hayagriva, Ekajati and goddess Bhrikuti; Noble Five Deities gathered together, I bow.”
The vibrant color palette and composition echoes thirteenth-century Sakya or Kagyu painting styles from Central Tibet. The distinctive jetted triangular throne-back, form of the lotus base, along with his facial features all point to a strong Newari influence and was likely produced by Tibetan artists working in this idiom. Looking closely, the applied gold is three-dimensional, rising above the canvas. The gold beadlets are a distinctive detail of early-style works that contrast the flat application of gold in later paintings. A fine early example of Tibetan painting preserved in its original context and form, the painting retains its original indigo brocade framing along with a tie-dyed silk coverlet or thang khebs, used to protect the painting surface when not in use.
Compare the present work with a late thirteenth or early fourteenth-century painted crown leaf depicting Vairochana in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 1997.152), which displays similar treatment of the body and the rainbow-hued prabha.