MID-15TH CENTURY

Details

a tibetan thangka depicting four mandalas
mid-15th century
The centre depicting two debating Sa.skya.pa lamas, both seated on a lotus, hands in various mudras and holding stems of lotuses supporting khadga and pustaka, respectively vajra and ghanta, wearing several cloaks, the specific bonnets, their faces with serene expression, a monk above and flanked by two forms of Acala, each corner with a mandala, the centres with manifestations of Guhyasamaha and a form of Vighnantaka, each surrounded by many gods within a square palace, the porches flanked by makaras, within a lotus petal, flaming and part of a cemetery border, the upper border with fifteen manifestations of probably Manjuvajra, the lower border with Syamatara, Ushnishavijaya and Simhanadalokesvara, all against a scrolling background, the red borders with inscriptions in dBu.med script, the reverse with mantras, the Buddhist creed and lengthy inscription in dBu.can script, with upper and lower border velvet mounting and red lacquered wood stick
76 x 68 cm

Literature

Brunel, 1964, pp. 36-37
unknown author, 1993/1994, pp. 15-17

Lot Essay

The inscription on the reverse can be roughly translated as follow:
Perseverance, ascese, endurance salutations, these are the best for the state of nirvana, said the Buddha. If the monks do harm to others, these are not acts of vertu, don't accumulate bad thoughts, but accumulate the fruits of vertu! Discipline your own thoughts, that's the teaching of the Buddha. If the wishes of the body are right (observed), the wishes of the word as well, then are the wishes of the mind similar. Then all wishes are right (observed).

The thangka under review belonged once to a larger serie and was probably painted for the Ngor monastery. Another example from the same serie can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London and is published by J. Lowry, Tibetan Art, London 1973, pp. 70-71.

More from Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art

View All