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3. Four Paintings Central Tibet 14th c. Distemper on cloth Each painting: 66 x 58 cm. / 26 x 23 in. (approx.) |
This remarkable group of paintings depict forms of Avalokitesvara and related divinities, and record in beautifully calligraphic Tibetan printed script (dbu can) mantras in praise of the Buddhas, bodhisattvas and other divinities. Each painting presents seven divinities in the top register, the first and last deities including popular forms of the bodhisattva (e.g., Sadaksari Lokesvara, Ekadasamukha Avalokitesvara), while the five middle figures depict Hayagriva, Amoghapasa, Lokanatha, Bhrkuti, and Ekajata. The paintings may have been used in instructing monks in the recitation of prayers connected with a cycle of Avalokitesvara teachings. A fourteenth century date may be proffered. Comparisons may be drawn with early fourteenth century murals at Shalu monastery. The design of the torana arch enclosing each deity in the top registers can be found in similar form at Shalu: a gem-encrusted golden trilobed arch resting on lotus stalks arising from a vase. Moreover, the crown design, consisting of three main elements and two smaller elements also appears at Shalu, as does the manner of handling textiles in the lower garments, the fall of the fabric defined by emphatic lines. The torana seen in these paintings also appears in the murals at Gyantse (c. second quarter, 15th century), but in a more elaborate and clearly later form. A c. late fourteenth century Mandala of Jnandakini, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, exhibits similar torana design and lotus petals. Detail: close-up |