拍品 148
148
A black-groud thangka of Mahakala
A black-groud thangka of Mahakala

TIBET, 17TH CENTURY

细节
A black-groud thangka of Mahakala
Tibet, 17th Century
The Dharmapala holding his staff and kapala amidst a flaming aureole, with three lamas depicted above, all vividly painted in gilt outline and with highlights in red, mounted in brocade
20 x 15 in. (52 x 38 cm.)

拍品专文

This thanka represents a rare depiction of Mahakala as Gonpo Bernagien. Familiar to the Nyingmapa tradition, the use of this form in a Gelugpa thanka can be explained by the Fifth Dalai Lama being born from a Nyingma family and maintaining an inclination to esoteric Nyingma rituals; compare another example in the collection of the Ronge-family, illustrated in the Taipei edition of Rhie and Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, 1998, cat. no. 75. The inscription on the reverse includes a praise of the Mahakala and a prayer regarding peace and prosperity in the land of snow.