Sitatapatra, central Tibet,
circa Fifteenth Century. Distemper on cloth.
NEW YORK CITY from Monday, March 24, to Tuesday, April 1.
The exhibition, " from the Himalayas and South Asia," will
coincide with The International Asian Art Fair, which takes place
in New York from March 28 to April 2.
The earliest Tibetan painting in the exhibition dates from around
the late Thirteenth Century and depicts Sarvavid Vairocana (The
Omniscient Illuminator) preaching to a chorus of celestial
beings. This classical work, inspired by the medieval painting
traditions of north India, represents a celestial Buddha,
Sarvavid Vairocana, who was especially popular in Tibet from the
Eleventh Century to the Fourteenth Century. This painting was an
important commission, indicated both by the fine quality and the
unusually large size. It was probably made for a monastery or
shrine where it would have been a major focus of worship.
The composition of the work, often seen in paintings of this
period, is of a large, enthroned central figure surrounded by
Buddhas, Indian Buddhist monks, male and female bodhisattvas. Of
particular interest is the dress of the standing bodhisattva
attendants who wear long skirts in three tiers of Chinese silk, a
style that appears in Chinese Yuan period (1260-1368) images and
may reflect Yuan stylistic influence in Tibet.
A work dating from around the Fifteenth Century depicting
Ushnisha Sitatapatra (the Goddess of the Glorious White Parasol)
is one of the earliest representations of this important and
powerful goddess to have survived. She stands on a lotus holding
a parasol, symbol of victory and of the triumph of freedom, and
manifests her powerful liberation by her 1,000 heads stacked in
five colored registers above her primary five faces. Her 1,000
arms are stretched out around her like a halo, each palm
inscribed with an eye to suggest her omniscience, while her 1,000
feet are shown trampling demons, hindrances to liberation.
On the back of the painting is a partially legible inscription
stating the name of the artist, who is described as a master
artist (pir thogs rgyal po). Although artists of previous
centuries are largely anonymous, during the Fifteenth Century
several were known in their own lifetime as gifted painters. The
style of this painting, with its bold palette, elongated figures
and decorative motifs, closely resembles that to be seen in the
Kumbum at Gyantse, an important Fifteenth Century temple complex
in central Tibet.
Also of particular importance are models of a male and a female
deer, (heights: 22 and 24 inches, respectively) dating from circa
Eighteenth Century, that originate from Mongolia. The deer
commemorate the occasion of Buddha Shakyamuni's first sermon
after attaining enlightenment. The teaching took place in
Mrgavana (Deer Park) and the deer symbolize the audience, being
gentle and attentive. Deer are traditionally presented flanking
and looking up to a Dharma Wheel (chakra), the symbol of the
first teaching, hence their upward gaze, and were usually found
above Tibetan and Mongolian monastery gateways. These animals
stand on lotus thrones that express their spiritual nature. The
group is highly unusual being silvered rather than gilded, as is
more typical of such sculpture. Mongolian artists, however, had a
particular penchant for the use of silvered copper. Gilt copper
deer from the Himalayan regions are represented in a number of
museum collections, notably the Rietberg in Zurich and the Musée
des Art Asiatiques, Nice.
A Tibetan Eighteenth Century painting shows Kalachakra and
Vishvamata joined in an embrace as they dance on an opened lotus.
Twenty-four armed Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) and the eight-armed
Vishvamata hold attributes associated with their transcendent
powers. Kalachakra is one of the principal deities in the
Anuttarayoga Tantras, the final phase of esoteric Buddhist
literature that arose in north India between the Eighth and
Twelfth Centuries. The highly complex text associated with the
practice of Kalachakra dates to around the end of the Tenth
Century and was first translated into Tibetan in the early
Eleventh Century. Kalachakra and Vishvamata stand at the center
of a vast mandala described in texts as consisting of 722
deities. In this painting, they are surrounded by a smaller
retinue consisting of eight eight-armed female deities and a
fierce form of Kalachakra below. The palette is vivid and
harmonious. A halo of fire enhances the exuberance of color and
composition in this painting.
These works are among some 20 important acquisitions, including a
drawing on cloth, dating from around the Seventeenth Century,
depicting a Cosmological Mandala with the world mountain (Meru)
at the center; a large and strongly modeled red sandstone head of
the Buddha and a voluptuous railing pillar depicting a Yakshi, a
female nature-spirit. Both these sculptures are from the area of
Mathura, north India, and date from circa Second Century during
the Kushan rule.
Dickinson Roundell is at 19 East 66th Street. For information,
contact Rossi & Rossi at 44 (0)1359 271085.
