A THANGKA DEPICTING THE FIFTH JEBTSUNDAMBA KHUTUKHTU, LOBZANG TSULTRIM JIGME TENPAI GYELTSEN (1815-1841), MONGOLIA, 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY

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A THANGKA DEPICTING THE FIFTH JEBTSUNDAMBA KHUTUKHTU, LOBZANG TSULTRIM JIGME TENPAI GYELTSEN (1815-1841), MONGOLIA, 19TH-EARLY 20TH CENTURY Gold and distemper on cloth. Finely painted with the Fifth Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu seated upon an elaborate throne supported by two lions, his right hand raised in vitarkamudra and delicately holding a lotus stem, his left supporting a sacred text beneath a longevity vase. His voluminous red and ocher robes, intricately patterned in gold and trimmed with black fur, gather in sweeping folds across his lap. The pale, youthful face is finely drawn with arched brows and a gentle smile, beneath a golden cap with a flaring black fur brim, the head framed by a deep green halo. Two attendants flank the throne, before which an offering table bears peaches, peacock feathers, and a conch shell. A miniature thangka depicting Vajradhara hangs above, while flowering branches and billowing clouds frame the composition against a landscape of rocky cliffs and flowing water. Dimensions: Image size 33.1 x 25.8 cm, Size incl. mounting 65.4 x 37.3 cm Mounted on a traditional cloth and silk hanging. Lobzang Tsultrim Jigme Tenpai Gyeltsen (1815-1841), the Fifth Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu, also known as the Fifth Bogd Gegen, was born in Central Tibet and enthroned while still a child at Ikh Khüree, present-day Ulaanbaatar, as spiritual head of the Khalkha Mongols. His hagiographies celebrate his scholarship and the clarity and eloquence of his religious writings. Following his early death, his remains were enshrined at Ganden monastery in Ikh Khüree with a book resting upon his knees. This distinctive detail finds an echo in his painted portraits, including the present thangka, in which the scripture supports a longevity vase. Literature comparison: Compare a closely related Mongolian thangka of the Fifth Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu, dated to the 20th century, illustrated by Elisabeth Haderer, “The Sacred and the Profane – Part Two: On the Representation of the Third to the Eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus in Mongolian Buddhist Art”, on Asianart.com, 27 February 2019, fig. 8. Compare a closely related Mongolian thangka of the Seventh Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu, dated to the 19th century, 31.5 x 23.5 cm, in the Linden-Museum, Stuttgart, and illustrated ibid., fig. 15. Compare a related Mongolian thangka of a lama in the Zanabazar Museum of Fine Arts, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 50067. Auction result comparison: Type: Related Auction: Christie’s Paris, 20 June 2017, lot 138 Price: EUR 5,625 or approx. EUR 7,300 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Expert remark: Compare the related subject and manner of painting with similar throne arch. Note the larger size (61 x 41 cm).

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