A NARRATIVE THANGKA WITH SCENES FROM THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA, EASTERN TIBET, PALPUNG STYLE, 18TH–19TH CENTURY

拍品描述

A NARRATIVE THANGKA WITH SCENES FROM THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF THE BUDDHA, EASTERN TIBET, PALPUNG STYLE, 18TH–19TH CENTURY Eastern Tibet, Kham province. Gold and distemper on cloth. Finely painted with Buddhist narrative scenes unfolding across an extensive mountainous landscape, centered by a standing Buddha in orange robes holding a staff and a bowl. Numerous subsidiary vignettes depict teaching and meditation, gatherings within palace courtyards and pavilions, groups of travelers, horsemen, itinerant monks, and scenes of everyday life. Finely delineated trees, craggy mountains, swirling clouds, and waterways connect the individual episodes within a continuous landscape. Dimensions: Image size c. 80 x 55 cm, Size incl. mounting 132.5 x 81.5 cm Mounted with a finely woven silk brocade frame. (2) The present painting is executed in the style associated with Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1700–1774) and Palpung Monastery in Eastern Tibet. It follows the distinctive Palpung tradition, drawing on the Khyenri school while incorporating the blue-and-green palette and spacious landscape conventions of Chinese painting. Among the most innovative of the later Tibetan painting traditions, the Palpung style is characterized by a comparatively open and restrained composition, in marked contrast to the denser pictorial language of the Central Tibetan New Menri tradition. Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne was one of the most influential figures in the history of Tibetan art. A prolific painter and translator, founder of Palpung Monastery, and editor-in-chief of the Derge Kangyur, he was responsible for several important painting cycles that were subsequently copied and widely disseminated, most notably the Avadana Kalpalata. The Sixteen Arhats and numerous other series likewise became integral to the painting tradition associated with him. At Palpung, Situ Panchen developed a distinctive pictorial idiom derived in part from the Khyenri tradition. Characteristic features include expansive backgrounds, sparse landscapes, and boldly articulated figures set within broad areas of open space. For the representation of deities, Situ Panchen particularly advocated the Khyenri tradition, which he specifically mentions in his biography as a model to be studied and emulated. In the colophon to his celebrated Avadana series, he further explains that his pictorial style drew upon the traditions of Chinese masters, while the architecture, figures, and costumes reflected forms he had encountered in India. Literature comparison: Compare a related painting from an Avadana Kalpalata Jataka series, eastern Tibet, Kham region, dated 18th century, 78.7 x 58.4 cm, in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, accession number M.82.9. Compare a related thangka depicting scenes from an Avadana Kalpalata series, Eastern Tibet, dated 19th century, in the Rubin Museum of Art, and illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 69066. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 11 September 2019, lot 384 Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 28,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, composition, and manner of painting. Note the size (86 x 62.1 cm). Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Christie’s New York, 15 March 2016, lot 218 Price: USD 20,000 or approx. EUR 24,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject, composition, and manner of painting. Note the size (74.5 x 56.5 cm).

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