A large thangka of Vaishravana, Tibet, 15th century

A large thangka of Vaishravana
Tibet, 15th century
西藏 十五世紀 多聞天王唐卡

Distemper on cloth
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13837.
HAR編號13837

Height 37½ in., 95.3 cm; Width 29 in., 73.5 cm

Condition Report:
The thankgka is in very good condition. the raise gold paint is particularly well preserved. There is minor retouching to typical creases. There are minor losses especially in the white architecture located at the top. Some minor rubbing and general wear.

Catalogue Note:
Vaishravana, the Buddhist Guardian of the North is worshipped in Tibet as a benefactor and bestower of wealth. He is depicted as a warrior-king dressed in a flowing robe, an armored breastplate and skirt, and wearing elegant boots, gold necklaces and earrings, and a sumptuous gold and gem-set crown. The mongoose (nakula) in his left hand is an ancient Indian symbol of riches, and a stream of jewels flows from the animal’s mouth. The tiger-skin canopy of the victory banner (dhvaja) that he holds in his right hand symbolizes strength and military prowess. His white snow lion mount (vahana) is the emblem of Tibet and a symbol of fearless power. The lion is adorned with a saddle rug and golden trappings and crouches at the base of a tiered red- and white-walled palace towering behind Vaishravana, with doors on each level, some open and guarded by warriors. A red sun and white moon appear either side of Vaishravana’s halo. Gods, mahasiddhas, and wealth deities surround the edifice together with Vaishravana’s equestrian retinue, the Eight Lords of the Horse (asvapati), Jambhala, Purnabhadra, Manibhadra, Kubera, Samjneya, Atavaka, Panchika, and Bijakundalin.

A lama in the lower register is seated with mounds of large multi-coloured jewels and is presented with an offering by a regal figure. A related scene of a donor and a monk with a bowl of jewels is depicted on a c. 1400 Vaishravana in the Michael and Beata McCormick Collection, see Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, expanded edition, London, 1996, p. 428, cat. 181 (43a). Rhie and Thurman suggest that the scene might depict the legend associated with the Vaishravana wealth cult in which Padmasambhava taught Trisong Detsen (740-798) the Vaishravana ritual practice, which the king mastered and used to raise funds for the construction of Samye monastery. The Vaishravana practice was maintained by subsequent Tibetan rulers and monastic orders in support of the Buddhist community.

This painting is distinguished by the monumental scale of Vaishravana and his lion, the refined raised gold-work that gives dimension to the crown, jewelry, and aureole, and the extensive use of the precious metal throughout. Gold can replace the iconographic color of a deity and the use of the precious metal in painting became popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, cf. a circa fourteenth century golden Chakrasamvara in these rooms , 20th March 1997, lot 75, and a fifteenth century gold Vajrapani in the same rooms, 26th March 1998, lot 117. Compare also the dramatic use of gold and the intense expression on the face of a ca 1450 Vajrabhairava in the Zimmerman Family Collection, see Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, pp 236-37, cat. no. 155. And compare the halo of textured gold interspersed with lotus leaves, with the halo of raised gold and pearls on a Padmasambhava with similar palette, lively movement of mahasiddhas, arched shrines and gold-flecked aureoles of fire surrounding tantric figures, dated to the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century in David P. Jackson, Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet, New York, 2011, p. 61, fig. 2.32. Compare also the raised gold aureole and animation of the dancing figures in a fourteenth or first half of the fifteenth century Amitayus in the Michael and Beata McCormick Collection, illustrated in Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, expanded edition, 1996, p. 478, cat. 234 (150a). Close similarities with these fourteenth and fifteenth century paintings suggest a date of at least the early fifteenth century for this rare and powerful depiction of the wealth god and his auspicious snow lion mount.

財寶天王在西藏被奉為護財之神，主北方，形象威武，身披長袍，穿甲冑、長靴、黃金項鍊及耳環，金冠嵌寶石，騎白獅，左手持神鼠，後者在古時印度是財富象徵，鼠口吐珍寳，右手持寶傘則象徵力量。白色雪獅象徵西藏，代表無畏力量。比較一例，約公元1400年，刻劃善信及僧人，僧人手持一缽，缽内承載珍寳，Michael及Beata McCormick珍藏，載於Marylin M. Rhie及Robert A. F. Thurman，《Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet》，增訂版，倫敦，1996年，頁428，編號181 （43a）。Rhie及Thurman認爲畫中情境或是描繪忿怒蓮師教授西藏赤松德贊王（740-798年）使其精其法意並興建桑耶寺的佛教故事。後來繼任的西藏君主繼續供奉財寶天王，支持佛教在西藏發展。

本畫中財寶天王及雪獅威武攝人，金冠、瓔珞珠寶及背光華美精緻，可比一例，斷代十四世紀末或十五世紀初，載於David P. Jackson，《Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet》，紐約，2011年，頁61，圖2.32。本畫刻劃財寶天王及雪獅莊嚴威武，極爲罕有，應亦可斷代至少至十五世紀初。

Provenance:
Acquired in New York, 2017.