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Lot Essay
This painting depicts Lha'i Gyalpo, 'King of the Gods', and comes from a set depicting the Kadam Legbam lineage. It is a visual representation of a controversial text associated with the Kadam school of Tibetan Buddhism. The text was traditionally believed to have been taught by Atisa (982-1054) to his principal disciple Dromton Gyalwa’i Jungne (1004-1064) and narrates the succession of Dromton’s previous lives and the moral lessons he accumulated across incarnations. In the seventeenth century, the Fifth Dalai Lama and his regent, Desi Sanggye Gyatso, actively promoted this lineage to establish the Dalai Lamas as direct incarnations of Dromton, thereby claiming the authoritative pedigree of the Kadam tradition. This claim was strongly opposed by influential Geluk hierarchs in seventeenth-century Lhasa. Modern scholars often view the text not as a direct teaching of Atisa, but as a later construction developed after Dromton’s lifetime to support specific political goals, namely, legitimizing the Dalai Lama’s authority, and to reinforce doctrinal claims about lineage and orthodoxy.
The close appearance between Lh'ai Gyalpo and the kings of Tibet are inextricably linked to the political and religious ambitions of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Potala Palace was built on the site of the seventh-century capitol established by the King Songtsen Gampo, the first of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet. Revered for introducing Buddhism into Tibet, and regarded, like the lineage of the Dalai Lamas, as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, Songtsen Gampo set a precedent for Tibetan rulership, in governance and spiritual practice, holding the role of a chakravartin, or enlightened ruler. Lha'i Gyalpo in this image wears a longevity vase with a blue gem at his chest, associating himself too with Avalokiteshvara. By establishing this connection through the lineage of Tibetan kings and powerful Kadam school masters, the Fifth Dalai Lama strengthened his own identity as a secular and spiritual ruler in Tibet. This authority was firmly established following a visit with the Qing Emperor Shunzhi (r. 1643-1661), who in a contended diplomatic fashion, recognized him in a manner that allowed the Fifth Dalai Lama to consolidate his power and identify himself as the King of Tibet.
Another painting shares the same iconographic program and belongs to the same set (HAR 98946). Both feature a single figure of royal appearance presented in a format associated with representations of Tibetan kings (c.f. HAR 774). Green, red, and blue silk embroidered in gold cover the robes and boots of the central figures. Each wear the kingly accoutrements of finial jeweled crowns and gem-encrusted golden earrings that fall to the shoulders. In front of the raised wooden dais sits red offering tables with cartouches identifying the central figure inscribed in gold. Both hierarchs carry benevolent expressions - eyes gazing out in gentle awareness, lips curled in a faint smile, and pink, fleshy skin - and are surrounded by lineage figures seated on single-layered lotus petal cushions. Verdant flower-filled and blue and green rocky enclaves fill the background space.
The close appearance between Lh'ai Gyalpo and the kings of Tibet are inextricably linked to the political and religious ambitions of the Fifth Dalai Lama. The Potala Palace was built on the site of the seventh-century capitol established by the King Songtsen Gampo, the first of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet. Revered for introducing Buddhism into Tibet, and regarded, like the lineage of the Dalai Lamas, as an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, Songtsen Gampo set a precedent for Tibetan rulership, in governance and spiritual practice, holding the role of a chakravartin, or enlightened ruler. Lha'i Gyalpo in this image wears a longevity vase with a blue gem at his chest, associating himself too with Avalokiteshvara. By establishing this connection through the lineage of Tibetan kings and powerful Kadam school masters, the Fifth Dalai Lama strengthened his own identity as a secular and spiritual ruler in Tibet. This authority was firmly established following a visit with the Qing Emperor Shunzhi (r. 1643-1661), who in a contended diplomatic fashion, recognized him in a manner that allowed the Fifth Dalai Lama to consolidate his power and identify himself as the King of Tibet.
Another painting shares the same iconographic program and belongs to the same set (HAR 98946). Both feature a single figure of royal appearance presented in a format associated with representations of Tibetan kings (c.f. HAR 774). Green, red, and blue silk embroidered in gold cover the robes and boots of the central figures. Each wear the kingly accoutrements of finial jeweled crowns and gem-encrusted golden earrings that fall to the shoulders. In front of the raised wooden dais sits red offering tables with cartouches identifying the central figure inscribed in gold. Both hierarchs carry benevolent expressions - eyes gazing out in gentle awareness, lips curled in a faint smile, and pink, fleshy skin - and are surrounded by lineage figures seated on single-layered lotus petal cushions. Verdant flower-filled and blue and green rocky enclaves fill the background space.