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13. A large Thangka of the protector goddess, Usnisasitatapatra Tibet circa 1900 ink, pigment and gold on prepared cloth Dimensions: 49"x 33" (125 x 84 cms). + brocades |
The goddess is depicted as slightly fierce, white in colour, with a thousand heads and a thousand hands, having arisen from the ushnisha (crown head ornament) of the Buddha Sakyamuni. In her hands she holds respectively a jewel and the White Parasol, her symbol. The legs on her right side are extended above a multitude of persons of various nationalities, birds and animals and the legs on her left side are bent and press down on more people and aquatic creatures. These symbolise egocentric existance. All her hands and feet have eyes to see the suffering of all sentient beings. In all, she has 10,100,000 eyes. She is adorned with various jewel ornaments and wears upper and lower silk brocade garments of assorted colours, stands upon a lotus and is completely surrounded by the flames of pristine awareness. Above in the sky are a two-armed and an eight-armed form of Sitatapatra and three identical Mahakala images are below as further protectors. On the back of the thangka is a four line inscription containing the names of different people (monks ?) written in various scripts. It dates from the time of the 13th Dalai Lama (Thubten Gyatso) and may have been consecrated at a meeting of Buddhist monks from different countries held during his era. This is also evident from the people under Sitatapatra’s feet, who are also of different ethnicity including what appears to be Europeans. Spinks of London stated that as few as five Tibetan paintings bearing depictions of European subjects (usually British) are known – one is in the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. For similar see: Wisdom and Compassion, the Sacred Art of Tibet, Rhie & Thurman, plate 125, pages 319-320 (Tibetan: dug kar mo, tsug tor. English: the White Parasol One, the Crown Ornament). |