A PAUBHA DEPICTING A CHAKRASAMVARA MANDALA NEPAL, CIRCA 1812 |

the sixty-two deity Chakrasamvara Mandala with twelve-armed and four-headed Chakrasamvara in union with Vajravarahi at the centre, the palace surrounded by the eight charnel grounds, with Kalachakra in union with Vishvamata to the left above, and Kapaladhara Hevajra with Nairatma to the right, Vajrayogini and Maitri Dakini to the left and right below the palace, with Vajravarahi in the centre of the lower register with the eight offering goddesses either side, and two-armed Chakrasamvara in the upper register flanked by Vajradhara, Buddhas and Chandamaharoshana Himalayan Art Resources item no. 18351.

“The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art”, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5 October-11 January 2003; and Columbus Museum of Art, 6 February-9 May 2004. 

John C. Huntington and Dinah Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Chicago, 2003, p. 287, cat. no 79. 

Good overall condition. With cracks and losses throughout. No major areas of damage and no apparent retouching. Inscription fractured on lower border. With associated silk brocade mounts and roller.
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This monumental painting from the Kathmandu Valley represents the mandala of the iconic meditation deity of Nepalese Buddhism, Chakrasamvara, painted with vibrant reds, greens, blues and yellows, the typical palette of the Newar artistic tradition. Compare the composition and style of a 1777 Vasudhara mandala formerly in the Jucker Collection, see Sotheby’s New York, March 28, 2006, lot 24. For a comprehensive discourse on the symbolism of the Chakrasmavara mandala, see John C. Huntington and Dinah Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Chicago, 2003, p. 286.