A rare thangka of Atisha
China, Ming Dynasty
China, Ming Dynasty
Distemper on cloth
49cm x 35 cm (19 2/8in x 13 6/8 in; with silk mount: 103 x 54 cm (40 1/2 x 21 2/8in)
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Provenance: a European private collection
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The result of Adamantio s.r.l. Science in Conservation Laboratory, Turin, LTL16137A carbon 14 test, 2016, notes 95.4% probability of a date between 1450-1650 AD.
Highly revered in both China and Tibet, the Indian Buddhist master Atisha (982-1054) is identified by the Tibetan inscription on the lower register of the present thangka. He is seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus throne issuing from an imaginary pond, with his hands in the teaching dharma chakramudra. His disciples, Dromton and Nagtso are depicted to the right and left of the central figure. Below Nagtso is a Tibetan monk depicted in a ritual gesture as if to consecrate the thangka, and Mahakala is depicted at the lower left corner, holding a sword to defend the Buddhist doctrine. The upper register is painted with the Buddhas and protective deities associated with Atisha's cult, such as the Buddha of Medicine, Bhaisaiyaguru, depicted on the far left beside two monks and above a four-armed Avalokiteshvara; the Buddha Shakyamuni with hands in dharmachakra mudra appears on the far right, above the Green Tara, whose cult Atisha introduced to Tibet.
The stylistic conventions of the present thangka would seem to follow those developed in China during the Yongle period, which continued throughout the Ming dynasty. The dense leaf tendrils enclosing blossoming peonies, decorating the halo surrounding Atisha, for instance, compare closely with those decorating the aura of flames surrounding an exceptionally large gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni, Yongle mark and period, in the British Museum, London, (acc.no.1908,0420.4), as well as the Dhyani Buddhas embroidered on the outstanding silk thangka of Raktayamari, Yongle mark and period, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 November 214, lot 300.
In addition, the monk staff depicted to the right of Atisha is in a distinctive form developed in China during the Yongle period, illustrated in a wood carving of the Buddha, dated to 1431 illustrated in H.Stodard-Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art, Warminster, 1975, p.61.
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China, Ming Dynasty
China, Ming Dynasty
Distemper on cloth
49cm x 35 cm (19 2/8in x 13 6/8 in; with silk mount: 103 x 54 cm (40 1/2 x 21 2/8in)
? ?????????
Provenance: a European private collection
??? ??????
The result of Adamantio s.r.l. Science in Conservation Laboratory, Turin, LTL16137A carbon 14 test, 2016, notes 95.4% probability of a date between 1450-1650 AD.
Highly revered in both China and Tibet, the Indian Buddhist master Atisha (982-1054) is identified by the Tibetan inscription on the lower register of the present thangka. He is seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus throne issuing from an imaginary pond, with his hands in the teaching dharma chakramudra. His disciples, Dromton and Nagtso are depicted to the right and left of the central figure. Below Nagtso is a Tibetan monk depicted in a ritual gesture as if to consecrate the thangka, and Mahakala is depicted at the lower left corner, holding a sword to defend the Buddhist doctrine. The upper register is painted with the Buddhas and protective deities associated with Atisha's cult, such as the Buddha of Medicine, Bhaisaiyaguru, depicted on the far left beside two monks and above a four-armed Avalokiteshvara; the Buddha Shakyamuni with hands in dharmachakra mudra appears on the far right, above the Green Tara, whose cult Atisha introduced to Tibet.
The stylistic conventions of the present thangka would seem to follow those developed in China during the Yongle period, which continued throughout the Ming dynasty. The dense leaf tendrils enclosing blossoming peonies, decorating the halo surrounding Atisha, for instance, compare closely with those decorating the aura of flames surrounding an exceptionally large gilt-bronze figure of Shakyamuni, Yongle mark and period, in the British Museum, London, (acc.no.1908,0420.4), as well as the Dhyani Buddhas embroidered on the outstanding silk thangka of Raktayamari, Yongle mark and period, which was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 26 November 214, lot 300.
In addition, the monk staff depicted to the right of Atisha is in a distinctive form developed in China during the Yongle period, illustrated in a wood carving of the Buddha, dated to 1431 illustrated in H.Stodard-Karmay, Early Sino-Tibetan Art, Warminster, 1975, p.61.
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