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TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
Details
A THANGKA DEPICTING A LAMA
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
The high pontiff is seated with legs crossed on multi-layered cushions with both hands resting on his lap in dhyanamudra supporting a kapala containing a kalasha. He also holds a pair of lotus stems that flower along his shoulders and support the vajra and ghanta attributes. He is clad in a monk’s garb including a mantle. His elderly face displays a meditative expression and his head is topped with the specific bonnet. The lama is placed in front of a pavilion with various offering vessels next to him. The upper register sees another lama and the protective deity Yama. The bull-headed deity embraces his sister Yami who offers him a blood-filled kapala and karttrika. The lower register has the god of richness Vaishravana in the centre. The lion-headed Simhavaktra and Beg.tse, literally ‘hidden shirt of mail’, trampling a horse and human figure, flank him. One side of the painting has a walled triple-roofed pagoda with a lama seated on a throne. An important visitor followed by a procession arrives at its gate. The various scenes are placed in a mountainous landscape.
25 ½ x 18 ¾ in. (64.8 cm. x 47.6 cm.)
TIBET, 18TH CENTURY
The high pontiff is seated with legs crossed on multi-layered cushions with both hands resting on his lap in dhyanamudra supporting a kapala containing a kalasha. He also holds a pair of lotus stems that flower along his shoulders and support the vajra and ghanta attributes. He is clad in a monk’s garb including a mantle. His elderly face displays a meditative expression and his head is topped with the specific bonnet. The lama is placed in front of a pavilion with various offering vessels next to him. The upper register sees another lama and the protective deity Yama. The bull-headed deity embraces his sister Yami who offers him a blood-filled kapala and karttrika. The lower register has the god of richness Vaishravana in the centre. The lion-headed Simhavaktra and Beg.tse, literally ‘hidden shirt of mail’, trampling a horse and human figure, flank him. One side of the painting has a walled triple-roofed pagoda with a lama seated on a throne. An important visitor followed by a procession arrives at its gate. The various scenes are placed in a mountainous landscape.
25 ½ x 18 ¾ in. (64.8 cm. x 47.6 cm.)
Provenance
Christie's London, 12 October 2000, lot 314
Formerly in a private American collection and gifted to the vendor prior to 2003.
Formerly in a private American collection and gifted to the vendor prior to 2003.
Sale room notice
Please note that the images for lot 491 and lot 490 have been transposed in the printed catalogue. Please refer to the images online.
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