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Lot Essay
This thangka constitutes part of a set likely created for the funeral services of the 14th Abbot of Ngor Monastery, Ngor Khenchen Jampa Kunga Tashi (1558-1603) in 1604. Other paintings in the series include Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra, illustrated in M. Rhie and R. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation, 1999, p. 420, and Hevajra, illustrated in P. Pal, Himalayas, An Aesthetic Adventure, 2003, p. 261, no. 173.
The inscription on the bottom of the present thangka is partially illegible but appears to be virtually identical to the inscription found at the base of the Hevajra thangka mentioned above, particularly as it contains the same dedication to Kunga Tashi.
Mahamaya is described in the Shri Mahamaya Tantraraja-nama (Toh 425 & No. 86 in the rGyud sde Kun btus set of mandalas) as blue in color, with four faces and four hands, embracing the consort Buddha Dakini, blue, also with four faces and four hands.
The inscription on the bottom of the present thangka is partially illegible but appears to be virtually identical to the inscription found at the base of the Hevajra thangka mentioned above, particularly as it contains the same dedication to Kunga Tashi.
Mahamaya is described in the Shri Mahamaya Tantraraja-nama (Toh 425 & No. 86 in the rGyud sde Kun btus set of mandalas) as blue in color, with four faces and four hands, embracing the consort Buddha Dakini, blue, also with four faces and four hands.