CIRCA 1300

Details

an important tibetan thang.ka depicting bkra.shis.dpal
circa 1300
He is seated in vajrasana on a lotus placed on a throne with an elaborate backslab, both hands in dharmacakramudra, wearing various garments, his face with slit eyes, moustache and beard, placed within a cave, the four corners with a lokapala, the upper border includes Vajradhara, the mahasiddhas Tilopa, Naropa, Marpa, Mi.la.ras.pa and his disciple, sGam.po.pa, directly placed above is Phak.mo.drug.pa his teacher, below the five tathagatas with consort and surrounding bodhisattvas, flanked to each side by two rows of various Buddhas, bodhisattvas, lineage lamas and tutelary deities, below a panel with eleven seated lineage lamas and the lower border with auxiliary deities including Mahakala, Vajrasattva, Acala, Jambhala, Ganapati, the black Jambhala and probably Vasudhara, the reverse with inscription in red dBu.can script mentioning the revered bKra.shis.dpal and followed by the Buddhist and patience creed
72.5 x 56.5 cm

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Lot Essay

bKra.shis.phel (1142-1210), also known as sTag.lung.thang.pa.chen.po, founded the sTag.lung monastery in 1180. Under his leadership the monastery housed as many as three thousand disciples. He transmitted to them the religious teachings of the 'Ka.brgyud.pa order. Representatives of this sect can be found at the upper register of the painting under discussion. The monastery did not only attract many religious students but played too a political role due to the strong ties with the Sa.skya.pa order. The latter dominated the political field of Tibet during the thirteenth century and one of their religious leaders, 'Phags.pa (see Lot 128 for an example), had even on its turn a close relation with the Mongol court of Kubilai Khan.

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