A fine and rare Sakya order vajravali painting Tibet, 15th century

depicting manifestations of Chakrasamvara and retinue within four mandala palaces bordered by rings of fire and lotus petals, set on a deep blue field showing the eight charnel grounds inhabited by siddhas in dialogue, birds, beasts, reptiles, scenes of dismemberment, and deities within flaming circles, two Sakya hierarchs in dialogue at center within a circle of lotus leaves and flames and surrounded by siddhas within four roundels all set on a red scrollwork field, with galleries of deities in the upper and lower registers

Acquired Makler Gallery, Philadelphia, April 1964

In very good condition overall with minor losses, creasing and abrasion throughout, with the main losses from creasing occurring in the lower right side of the central roundel of two lamas and two shorter creases on the corresponding vertical in the lower register - all visible in the catalogue illustration. Minor abrasion and losses in the upper central graveyard scene directly below the center of the upper register, again clearly visible in the catalogue illustration. The color tone is much richer and deeper than in the catalogue illustration. No staining. No restoration. No inspection of the reverse of the painting - it framed and glazed in the original 1964 picture frame.
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Cf. the almost identical composition and painting style of the renowned Tibetan Four Mandala Vajravali painting, commissioned at Ngor monastery in the fifteenth century, see Steven M. Kossak and Jane Casey Singer, Sacred Visions, Early Paintings from Central Tibet, New York, 1999, p. 170, pl. 47c, where Sakya hierarchs are similarly portrayed in discourse at the center of the painting, the upper and lower registers are divided into arches topped by stupas, and where the hand of a Newar master artist is evident throughout each work. The vajravali series of mandalas portray a cycle of deities described in medieval Indian texts compiled by Abhayakaragupta (1084-1130). Highly respected as a great adept by Tibetans at the time, he was abbot of a number of eastern Indian monasteries and a professor at the university of Vikramashila where he wrote the treatise. The vajravali mandalas were particularly popular with the Ngor monastery lineage holders who are credited with preserving the tradition of the teaching, and records and inscriptions tell of a number of mandala series being commissioned over the years, see John C. Huntington and Dina Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Columbus, 2003, pp. 306-26.