A THANGKA DEPICTING AMITABHA 16TH CENTURY |

red Amitabha Buddha wearing a patchwork robe and with hands in dhyana mudra holding a patra, seated in vajraparyankasana on a peacock throne in Sukhavati paradise, the bodhisattva Maitreya standing to the left with a mahasiddha in the halo above, and the bodhisattva Vajrapani to the right with a Sakya master wearing a white cloak in the halo above, a lotus flower emerging from the ocean below supporting seated Amitayus with hands in dhyana mudra and holding a kalasa, a Sakya monk and Jambhala at either side of the lotus stem, a host of monks worshiping beneath the throne, with temples, deities and monks throughout the mountainous landscape of the Pure Land, a chatra suspended above the throne surrounded by celestial musicians and apsaras, and monks in obeisance to Vairocana and Akshobya in temples to either side, with lakes, trees and birds in vertical registers against red borders at either side, and a golden inscription in the red border below Himalayan Art Resources item no. 18323.

“Dieux et démons de l’Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque”, Grand Palais, Paris, 25 March-27 June 1977; and Haus der Kunst, Munich, 5 August-16 October 1977.

Jeannine Auboyer and Gilles Béguin, Dieux et démons de l'Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque, Paris, 1977, p. 103, cat. no. 61.

Rubbed, fractured and losses throughout. Staining throughout the upper third of the painting including the halo and the face of the central deity. Some consolidation of the blues throughout. The standing monk adoring the Buddha on upper left with the black hair strengthened.
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The Tibetan inscription can be traslated as follows: May the patron Sangye Tashi’s father, mother, and close relatives (…) whatever blessings have been dedicated equal to the extent of space! (May they) all be reborn in the Western (pure land of) Sukhavati! May it be auspicious! So be it!

Compare an Amitabha thangka in the Zimmerman Family Collection, see, Jeannine Auboyer and Gilles Béguin, Dieux et démons de l'Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque, Paris, 1977, p. 216, cat. no 240.