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Lot Essay
A closely related embroidered silk thangka depicting Guhyasamja Manjuvajra (61 x 53 cm.) from the 16th century was exhibited at the Hong Kong Museum of Art and illustrated in Heaven's Embroidered Cloths, One Thousand Years of Chinese Textiles, Hong Kong Museum of Art, Hong Kong, 1995, pp.146-147, no.33.
The ferocious god Vajrabhairava is the wrathful form of Manjushri and a revered meditational deity in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrabhairava later became a prominent Buddhist icon in China under the Qing emperors, who maintained direct links with the dignitaries of the Gelugpa sect, including the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. This form of Buddhism flourished within China under Qing rule, inspiring the construction of numerous temples in and around the capital of Beijing. In the eighteenth century, the Qianlong Emperor promoted himself as a manifestation of Manjushri, establishing his role as a spiritual and political leader. Images of Vajrabhairava, therefore, carried both religious and political implications, promoting Gelugpa spiritual practice while simultaneously endorsing the heavenly mandate of the Emperor.
The ferocious god Vajrabhairava is the wrathful form of Manjushri and a revered meditational deity in the Gelugpa sect of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrabhairava later became a prominent Buddhist icon in China under the Qing emperors, who maintained direct links with the dignitaries of the Gelugpa sect, including the Dalai and Panchen Lamas. This form of Buddhism flourished within China under Qing rule, inspiring the construction of numerous temples in and around the capital of Beijing. In the eighteenth century, the Qianlong Emperor promoted himself as a manifestation of Manjushri, establishing his role as a spiritual and political leader. Images of Vajrabhairava, therefore, carried both religious and political implications, promoting Gelugpa spiritual practice while simultaneously endorsing the heavenly mandate of the Emperor.