Himalayas: The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Important Tibetan Paintings and other Himalayan Works of Art
Himalayas: The Richard R. & Magdalena Ernst Collection of Important Tibetan Paintings and other Himalayan Works of Art
Property from the collection of Richard R. and Magdalena Ernst | 恩斯特伉儷收藏
A rare silk thangka depicting an assembly of emblems, Tibet, circa 18th century | 西藏 約十八世紀 法器唐卡 絹本設色
Lot Closed
December 15, 11:14 AM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 7,000 EUR
Lot Details
Description
Property from the collection of Richard R. and Magdalena Ernst
A rare silk thangka depicting an assembly of emblems
Tibet, circa 18th century
distemper on silk, depicting a skull crown, tiger skin apron, bone apron, scarf, golden earrings, necklace of freshly severed heads and snake jewellery, with a canopy above and black ravens to the side, an array of drums and ritual implements on altar tables beneath, and offerings of the emblems of chakravartin, weapons and animal skins below, together with a separated white silk veil with Tibetan inscription
129 x 59 cm, 50 3/4 by 23 1/4 in.
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Collection Richard R. et Magdalena Ernst
Rare tangka représentant une assemblée d'emblèmes, détrempe sur soie, Tibet, circa XVIIIe siècle
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恩斯特伉儷收藏
西藏 約十八世紀 法器唐卡 絹本設色
Richard R. Ernst, ‘Science and Arts’, EPR Newsletter 14, no. 1-2 (2004): pp. 15-18.
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 18364.
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理查德 · R · 恩斯特，《科學與藝術》，EPR電子報，2004年，第1-2期，頁15-18
喜瑪拉雅藝術資源，物件編號18364
An inscription on a separate silk veil, now lost, revealed that the painting represents a symbolic depiction of Chaturmukha Shrimahakala and his consorts. This display of the deity’s attributes would appear to be consistent with Sakya tradition, whereby this four-faced and four-armed manifestation of Mahakala is rarely depicted in art and never shown to the uninitiated, see Jeff Watt, https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=581. In this form, Shrimahakala is the chief protector deity of Ngor, where abbots were compelled to receive ritual permission for practicing the deity prior to their installation ceremony as head of the monastery, see Jörg Heimbel, Vajradhara in Human Form: The Life and Times of Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po, Lumbini, 2017, pp. 263–64.
A monk by the name of Palden Chökyong was mentioned in the inscription who might be identified as the thirty-fourth abbot of Ngor Monastery, Palden Chökyong (1702-1760). Palden Chökyong’s tenure lasted from 1733 until 1739, after which he became the court chaplain to the king of Derge between 1739 and 1754, ibid., p. 527, n. 45. It has been suggested that the abbot of Ngor commissioned this painting during a pilgrimage to Derge in Eastern Tibet, see Ernst, op. cit.
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本唐卡原有的白色絲幔上（已遺失）註明本幅唐卡以象徵性的方式描繪忿怒護法及其隨眾。這種採用隱喻方式表現神靈和薩迦派繪畫傳統一致。大黑天少以四面四臂之形象呈現，此類形象也從未向非信徒嶄露，見Jeff Watt : https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=581。大黑天是俄爾的主要保護神，寺院住持在授典儀前必須獲得修行儀式之許可，見Jörg Heimbel, 《肉身金剛：俄爾欽·貢噶桑波的生活和時代》，藍毘尼，2017年，263-64頁。
原有的白色絲幔上提及僧侶Palden Chökyong（1702-1760），其可能為俄爾寺的第三十四任住持，任期為1733年至1739年，並於1739年至1754年間授任為德格國王御用上師，同上，527頁，編號45。本唐卡可能是俄爾寺住持前往在東藏德格朝聖時委託所製，見Ernst，同上。