.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This imperial thangka presents Arhat Bakula, one of the Sixteen Arhats, identifiable by the jewel-spitting mongoose he cradles. Bakula appears as an elderly monk in layered robes of red, gold, and green, his right hand raised in vitarka mudra. He sits before an ornate throne while offerings of jewels and flowering shrubs are set upon a wooden offering table. Two attendant monkeys kneel in adoration. Above, two bodhisattvas seated within circular orbs float among ruyi-shaped clouds, and the setting opens to a refined landscape of rocky outcrops and lotus-filled waters that suggests a quiet retreat. The iconography and attributes accord with standard descriptions of Bakula in Tibetan painting and sculpture.
The present Bakula appears to form part of a deliberate imperial enterprise, in which the Qianlong court used thangka sets to affirm both religious devotion and political legitimacy. The painting’s exceptionally fine workmanship, consistency of iconography, and correspondence to a dated pair from 1793 and 1794 (Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 13 October 2021, lot 3653) indicate that it belonged to a unified series commissioned for imperial settings. Such projects were conceived to reinforce the emperor’s role as a patron and protector of Tibetan Buddhism, and the Bakula thangka reflects that synthesis of artistic refinement and political intention characteristic of late Qianlong Buddhist commissions.
The style, format, and scale of this painting aligns with a Qianlong-period imperial arhat set. A closely related pair of thangkas, depicting Pindola Bharadvaja and Hvashang Mahayana, bears quadri-lingual inscriptions in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan that identify the figures and date production to Qianlong years 58 and 59 (1793 and 1794). Those works share with the present painting the single seated arhat, cloud-borne Buddhas at the top, jewel piles at the base, and very similar dimensions, strongly indicating execution as part of the same coordinated imperial program. A third member of this imperial group is listed on HAR 12767. That example shows the same pictorial architecture, including a lone arhat on a formal throne and paired Buddhas in circular orbs in the upper register. Taken together with the inscribed pair dated 1793–1794, the set can be placed within the final years of Qianlong’s reign.
Context supports an imperial commission. During Qianlong’s late reign, the workshops in Beijing collaborated with Tibetan and Mongolian painters to create Sino‑Tibetan ensembles for palace chapels and Qing‑sponsored Buddhist sites. Sets of arhats, buddhas, and bodhisattvas were installed in the Forbidden City, and related thangkas are linked to Chengde’s Xumi Fushou Temple, a monument of Qianlong’s Buddhist diplomacy. Characteristic features include pastel palette, abundant gilding, jeweled haloes, and vaporous cloud formations, all of which appear here.
The present Bakula appears to form part of a deliberate imperial enterprise, in which the Qianlong court used thangka sets to affirm both religious devotion and political legitimacy. The painting’s exceptionally fine workmanship, consistency of iconography, and correspondence to a dated pair from 1793 and 1794 (Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 13 October 2021, lot 3653) indicate that it belonged to a unified series commissioned for imperial settings. Such projects were conceived to reinforce the emperor’s role as a patron and protector of Tibetan Buddhism, and the Bakula thangka reflects that synthesis of artistic refinement and political intention characteristic of late Qianlong Buddhist commissions.
The style, format, and scale of this painting aligns with a Qianlong-period imperial arhat set. A closely related pair of thangkas, depicting Pindola Bharadvaja and Hvashang Mahayana, bears quadri-lingual inscriptions in Chinese, Manchu, Mongolian, and Tibetan that identify the figures and date production to Qianlong years 58 and 59 (1793 and 1794). Those works share with the present painting the single seated arhat, cloud-borne Buddhas at the top, jewel piles at the base, and very similar dimensions, strongly indicating execution as part of the same coordinated imperial program. A third member of this imperial group is listed on HAR 12767. That example shows the same pictorial architecture, including a lone arhat on a formal throne and paired Buddhas in circular orbs in the upper register. Taken together with the inscribed pair dated 1793–1794, the set can be placed within the final years of Qianlong’s reign.
Context supports an imperial commission. During Qianlong’s late reign, the workshops in Beijing collaborated with Tibetan and Mongolian painters to create Sino‑Tibetan ensembles for palace chapels and Qing‑sponsored Buddhist sites. Sets of arhats, buddhas, and bodhisattvas were installed in the Forbidden City, and related thangkas are linked to Chengde’s Xumi Fushou Temple, a monument of Qianlong’s Buddhist diplomacy. Characteristic features include pastel palette, abundant gilding, jeweled haloes, and vaporous cloud formations, all of which appear here.