A THANGKA OF THE OUTER YAMA DHARMARAJA AND HIS CONSORT, TIBET, 18TH-19TH CENTURY

拍品描述

A THANGKA OF THE OUTER YAMA DHARMARAJA AND HIS CONSORT, TIBET, 18TH-19TH CENTURY Gold and distemper on cloth. Finely painted, depicting the buffalo-headed deity striding in alidhasana with both arms raised, holding a chastising staff in his right hand and a noose for binding souls in his left, while adorned with a garland of severed heads. The Lord of Death is accompanied by his female counterpart, who holds a skull cup filled with the blood-elixir of demons in her left hand and a trident in her right. Both wrathful figures are depicted with fierce expressions and gaping mouths revealing sharp fangs, their heads surmounted by large, flowing manes and crowned with diadems of skulls. The pair stands upon a buffalo while in sexual union with a pale-skinned female corpse, the entire group framed by a brilliant aureole of billowing flames. At the four corners of the composition are further manifestations of Yama, each of a different color and shown upon a buffalo and lotus base, representing the four principal ritual activities associated with Yama. A fifth, dark-skinned manifestation of Yama, representing Inner Yama Dharmaraja, appears above, each framed by a flaming aureole and all set against a distinctive green ground. Dimensions: Image size 32.6 x 25.9 cm, Size incl. mounting 54.6 x 36.8 cm Mounted on silk as a hanging scroll with hardwood handles. The present thangka depicts the Vajrayana Buddhist protective deities Yama and his sister Yami, also identified with his consort Chamundi. As Lord of the Underworld, Yama presides over the judgment of the dead at the gates of hell. In his capacity as Dharmaraja, or ‘King of the Law’, he is a prominent member of the Dharmapalas, or ‘Protectors of the Law’, deities charged with safeguarding Buddhism and its teachings and with overcoming obstacles faced by its practitioners. Here, Yama appears specifically in his conceptual manifestation as the Outer Yamaraja, or ‘Lord of Death’, a protective form associated with the defense of Buddhist practitioners and monasteries against drought, banditry, and other threats. In addition to the deliberately fearsome and macabre imagery of Yama and Yami, intended to deter and terrify those who might seek to harm the Buddhist community, equally unsettling is the explicit carnal desire of Yama for his sister and consort, this transgressive imagery echoed by the bull beneath them, depicted copulating with a human corpse. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related thangka depicting Yama Dharmaraja, Tibet, dated 19th century, in the collection of the Hahn Cultural Foundation, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 98976. Compare a related thangka depicting Yama and Yami, Eastern Tibet, Kham region, dated c. 1675.1725, 240 x 148 cm, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.71.78. Compare a closely related Tibetan-Chinese thangka depicting Yama and Yami, dated 19th century, 115.6 x 61 cm, in the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, object number B72D57. Compare a closely related thangka depicting Yama with Yami, Buryatia, New Menri style, dated early 19th century, 96 x 79 cm, in the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, museum number Y-186. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams San Francisco, 17 December 2018, lot 309 Price: USD 7,500 or approx. EUR 8,600 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and manner of painting. Note the much larger size (73.7 x 48.3 cm).

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