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
by Dr. Elisabeth Haderer, Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, University of Hamburg

This is the second of two articles on the portraits on the Mongolian rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus or Bogdo Gegens. For the first article, The Sacred and the Profane - Part 1, please click here.

text and images © the author except where otherwise noted

Published February 27, 2019

(click on the small image for full screen image with captions.)

Preface

In my recently published article,[1] I analyzed in detail some portraits of the first and second rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus or Bogdo Gegens, the highest Buddhist representatives of Outer Mongolia, from the seventeenth century forward.

A comparison of paintings and sculptures has shown that for the faces of Buddhist masters Mongolian Buddhist artists primarily followed the Tibetan and Chinese conventions of portrayal from life, but for the representation of their bodies they adhered to the iconographic standards of the Indian tradition. In order to achieve life-like resemblance, Mongolian and Tibetan artists often relied on Buddhist monks, aristocrats or common people as models.[2]

Fig. 1A very important prototype for the reproduction of the physical appearance of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus were their mummified bodies. In his book Mongolia and the Mongols, Aleksei Pozdneyev describes in detail the process of mummification applied to all rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus after their death:

The remains of the deceased [Khutukhtu] are … not cut open and are not dissected; they are only formed into the pose of a man sitting in an attitude of prayer …, and then they rub (it) with various kinds of perfumes and alcoholic fluids, and they finally coat it with a compound of salt and other substances.[3]

After the body has dried up completely after two or three months, the salt compound is removed. Then, the face and the unclothed parts (head and hands) are covered with gilding. The eyebrows, mustache, and lips are sketched on the top of the facial gilding, but, the eyes are left closed. The corpse in this particular shape is called a saria (or sharil according to Pozdneyev). Once in this state, the entire body is installed in a silver reliquary stūpa that is placed inside the temple.[4] (Fig. 1)

Introduction

In this paper, I will continue to investigate some portraits of the third to the eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus (Figs. 2-25) in terms of their iconographic features, the portraiture and the style of the paintings and sculptures.

Literature Sources and Illustrations
As in the first part of this article,[5] I have based my study on the life stories of the third to eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus included in Aleksei Pozdneyev and the translation of their hagiographies by Charles Bawden.[6] Further sources on some hagiographies in Mongolian are cited in Tusltem[7] such as for example Bančin erdeni-ece gening-yin sangvari abuba[8], Jebtsundambaluvsantsultemjigmeddambiijantsanbalsambuugiin tsadig tuuh Galbarvas modon[9], Luvsanperleenamjil[10], Doluduγar düri-yin següder jergečegsen ba baγsi lharamba Aγvang odser, tübed gačin čorji Baldanγombu nar-tu čola, ečige Miγmar-tu jingse otuγ-a zerge sangnaγsan tuqai[11], Doluduγar düri-yin Jibjundamba qutuγtu-yin jalaraγsan tuqai[12], Jibjundamba blam-a-yin törül üy-e-yin neres kiged oron dačang bayiγuluγsan temdeglel[13] or Jibjundamba qutuγtu siregen-dü jalaraγsan niγuča teüke[14].The representations of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus that I will discuss are illustrated in Tsybikov[15] (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 10), Tsultem[16] (Figs. 9, 13, 21, 22, 23), Bongrad-Lewina[17] (Fig. 8), Hummel[18] (Figs. 17, 18), Pozdneyev (Fig. 19) and Grünwedel[19] (Fig. 20). I photographed some of the portraits (Figs. 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 15) during my exploration of the Buddhist thangkas of the Leder collection in the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart/ Germany for my master thesis[20] and at an exhibition of Mongolian Buddhist art and manuscripts at the National History Museum in Ulaanbaatar/ Mongolia taking place during the IATS XVIII Conference in July 2013.

Some General Notes on the Third to Eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus
Although they were the highest spiritual representatives of Khalkha/ Outer Mongolia, some of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus, such as the seventh (Figs. 12-18) and the eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Bogdh Khan (1869/70-1924) (Figs. 19-25), led quite eccentric and worldly lives that were not in accordance with the expectations of a Buddhist monk or a priest. This was partly related to the increasingly political function that these later Bogdo Gegens in particular held in Mongolian history. The eighth Bogdo Gegen was declared the supreme political authority in Outer Mongolia when the Chinese Qing dynasty ended in 1911. From then on, he was both a religious and a secular ruler. Therefore, he was even allowed to marry twice. When his second wife Dondogdulam, also known as Ekh Dagin (Fig. 23, detail), died in 1923, he married the wife of a wrestler. As with her husband, she is said to have had numerous lovers and eventually died from syphilis.


Fig. 2Most of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus died at a very young age. The sixth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Blo bzang dpal ldan bstan pa (Mong. Luvsantüvdenchoyjijaltsan) (1843-1848) (Figs. 10, 11), for example, did not even reach the age of six. The third Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 2, 3) died at 15, the seventh at 18, and the fifth (Figs. 6-9) at 27. Only the fourth Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 4, 5) turned 38 years old, while the eighth reached the age of 54.

The ninth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu 'Jam dpal rnam grol chos kyi rgyal mtshan was born in 1932 in Lhasa, Tibet and died in 2012. His rediscovery had to be kept secret until the collapse of the Communist regime in 1991.

The Selection of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus
The rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus were chosen by the Dalai Lamas, who were declared the supreme religious and political authorities of Tibet by the Mongolian ruler Altan Khan (1507-1582) in the sixteenth century. Beginning in the seventeenth century, the Chinese Qing emperors had to confirm the choice of the rebirths. To prevent the Khalka Mongols from gaining too much power and political autonomy, the Manchu court always opted for a Tibetan as the new incarnation of a deceased rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu.

After the death of a rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu, the Khalka officials of Ikh Khüree (Urga) sent a courier to the Chinese emperor in Beijing to inform him about the death of the Bogdo Gegen. A few months later, another Mongolian delegation was sent to Tibet in order to ask the Dalai Lama to perform the death rites for the deceased Bogdo Gegen and select the new incarnation. The Dalai Lama, together with the Panchen Lama and other high lamas of the Gelug school (Tib. dGe dlugs pa), chose three boys who were born at approximately the same time as the conscious rebirths of the body, the speech, and the mind of the former rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu. After this procedure, an additional committee decided which of the three boys, who were about one and a half years old at the time, should be sent to Mongolia. This election was performed by writing the names of the candidates on slips of paper.[21]

After the selection, the Chinese emperor and later the officials in Ikh Khüree were informed of the result. Once this was complete, the Mongol delegation staying in Tibet would be permitted to return to Mongolia with the new rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu. The selection of a new Bogdo Gegen was a very expensive undertaking, which made the Khalkha Mongols hope in vain that the new Bogdo Gegen would be born in Mongolia one day.[22]

The Representation of the Third rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (1758-1773)

Hagiographical Details
In accordance with a decree by the Chinese Qing emperor Qianlong (1711-1799), which stated that all future rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus were to be found in Tibet, the third Bogdo Gegen Ye shes bstan pa'i nyi ma (Mong. Ishdambiynyam) (1758-1773) was the first Tibetan among the Khalkha Mongol rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus.

As described in his hagiography, the birth of the third rJe btsun dam pa Khutukthu was accompanied by many signs, such as rainbows, rare flowers, and his parents’ auspicious dreams. When the baby boy was only a few months old, he is reported to have already shown the behavior of a Buddhist teacher (Tib. bla ma, lama) as he pretended to read sacred texts or sit on a high chair and bless people. Once, he is said to have even rejected a blue jacket with the following words: “I shall not put on the dress which laymen wear!” Until then the boy had not spoken a word. All his family was amazed, and they decided to dress him in the yellow robes of a lama.[23]

When he was five years old, the Bogdo Gegen was taken to Mongolia to be introduced to the Chinese emperor. The boy is said to have answered the emperor’s questions in fluent Mongolian. This incident was, of course, interpreted as a sign that he was the righteous rebirth of his Mongolian predecessors. Another proof occurred when he received an initiation by the second lCang skya Khutukhtu Rol pa'i rdo rje (1717-1786), the highest Buddhist authority of Inner Mongolia. During the ritual, representations of stūpas appeared on his hands.[24]

Unfortunately, the third Bogdo Gegen did not live beyond fifteen years. Shortly before his death, the Chinese emperor had a dream in which he saw the young Bogdo Gegen riding towards Tibet. In fact, soon afterwards, news came that the Bodgo Gegen had died in Ikh Khüree. Thereupon, as a gift to the Ikh Khüree lamas, the emperor sent a portrait[25] of the Bogdo Gegen made by Chinese painters when he visited his court in Jehol. When he gave the portrait to the delegates, the emperor allegedly said: “The poor hutukhtu! How young he was when he died?! Now, his next rebirth will probably appear in the province of Tsang!”[26]

Iconographic Prototype 1
A portrait of the third rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu is depicted in black-and-white in the book by Tsybikov. (Fig. 2) The representation is part of a portrait set of the seven rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus (Figs. 4, 6, 11, 13) and it shows the third Bogdo Gegen sitting in a full meditative posture (Skt. vajraparyaṅka, padmaparyaṅka, dhyānāsana; Tib. rdo rje skyil krung) on a pile of five multi-colored meditation cushions. He is dressed in traditional threefold monk’s robes consisting of an inner or lower robe (Tib. mthang gos), an outer robe (Tib. bla gos) and a coat (Tib. snam sbyar).[27] On his head, he wears a pointed yellow paṇḍita cap with side-flaps. This hat designates him as member of the Tibetan Buddhist Gelugpa tradition. He holds both hands in his lap in the meditative gesture (Skt. dhyānamudrā; Tib. mnyam bzhag phyag rgya).

He has a schematized round face with a broad nose, his nostrils are only defined by a single line, and his head is surrounded by a transparent halo.

The backrest his throne has two curved side parts with dragon heads as end pieces. The cloth covering the backrest is ornamented with scattered flower rosettes. The coat of the Bogdo Gegen has a stylized cloud pattern applied in fine, dynamic brushstrokes. The fronts of the seat cushions are adorned with variations of tendrils, clouds and geometrical designs. The folds of his robes are defined by flowing lines.

The background is filled with a dark sky in which the sun (right) and the moon (left) shine and thick clouds gather on the left and right corners of the image.

In front of the throne is a small table with ritual implements and offerings such as the holder for a butter lamp (?), a double drum (Skt. ḍamaru), a dharma-wheel, three jewels, and a jug. The sides of the table are reduced in perspective.

Iconographic Prototype 2

Fig. 3A simple line drawing/ woodcut print which also belongs to a set including the portraits of the fifth, sixth and seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (Figs. 7, 11, 14) shows the third Bogdo Gegen sitting on a pile of five cushions (Fig. 3). He raises his right hand to the level of his heart in the gesture of granting refuge (Skt. śaraṇagamana-mudrā; Tib. skyabs sbyin gyi phyag rgya) or religious discourse (Skt. vitarka-mudrā; Tib. chos ‘chad phyag rgya).[28] His left hand rests in a meditative gesture in his lap as he holds a long-life vase (Tib. tshe bum) filled with the nectar (Skt. amṛta; Tib. bdud rtsi) of immortality and a wish-fulfilling plant (Skt. kalpavṛksha; Tib. dpag bsam gyi shing).[29] The folds of his robes fall in cascading lines rendered in a skillful and lively manner. He has an oval face with a slightly protruding chin. His eyes are narrow and almond-shaped, and they are placed closely together. His nose is indicated by one single line. His mouth is small whereas his upper and under lips are equally distinctive. The space between his nose and mouth are highlighted by two vertical lines.

Summary
The third Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 2, 3) is portrayed with a yellow paṇḍita cap. He holds both hands in the meditative gesture (Fig. 2); or he performs the gesture of granting refuge or teaching with his right hand in front of his heart while the left hand rests in his lap in the meditative gesture. In addition, he holds a long-life vase with a plant inside (Fig. 3).

The Representation of the Fourth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu(1775-1813)

Hagiographical Details
Against all hopes of the Khalka, the next incarnation of the rJe btsun dam pa Kutukhtu was again found among the Tibetans. The fourth Bogdo Gegen Blo bzang thub bstan dbang phyug (Mong. Luvsantüvdenvanchug) was even the cousin of the seventh Dalai Lama sKal bzang rgya mtsho (1708-1775). It was from him that the new Bogdo Gegen received the monk’s vows in the Potala Palace in Lhasa. At the age of three, he moved from Lhasa to Ikh Khüree where he was officially enthroned as the fourth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu in the presence of khans, lamas, and civilians.

According to his biographies, the fourth Bogdo Gegen was mainly focused on matters of faith. Pozdneyev mentions that the lamas of Ikh Khüree used to call him doshkin-düri, which means “angry aspect”, as he forced the lamas to study and do all sorts of things,[30] and “… sometimes [he] punished idlers and persons who did not fulfill his commands with a cudgel [wielded by] his own hands.”[31]

Moreover, he commissioned the construction and renovation of many Buddhist temples and meditation centers. These he decorated with fine Buddha sculptures that he had brought from Tibet or which he also commissioned, along with an edition of the Kangyur (Tib. bka' 'gyur) “written in gold on black parchment.”

In 1797, he visited the Amur-bayasgulangtu monastery:

It is said that it was on this trip that the Gegen opened the suburgan [stūpa] of Öndür-gegen [first rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Zanabazar] and ordered the finest painters to make a portrait from his remains; in the following year, 1798, he prepared, on the basis of this portrait, the first idol of the Khalkha khubilgan [Tib. sprul sku, Tulku] of the Jebtsun Damba hutukhtu earlier mentioned.[32]

On his journey back from Beijing to his homeland, the fourth Bogdo Gegen fell ill with bronchitis. After a short visit at the Chinese Buddhist pilgrimage mountain Wutai shan he died in 1813 at the age of 38 from “galloping consumption”.[33] His embalmed remains were placed in a reliquary stūpa that was sent via post stations to the Amur-bayasgulangtu monastery in 1816.[34]

Iconographic Prototype 1

Fig. 4The portrait of the fourth Bogdo Gegen that belongs to the set of paintings published in Tsybikov’s book is almost identical to the representation of the third Bogdo Gegen (Fig. 2). He is seated on a pile of five cushions; towering behind him, there is a backrest with curved side parts and beams in the shape of tendrils. He is wearing the threefold Tibetan monk robes and a tapered paṇḍita hat. His outer robe is ornamented with lotus emblems. He holds both hands in the gesture of greeting or veneration (Skt. añjali, kṛitañjali; Tib. thal mo sbyar ba)[35] to the front of his heart. As in fig. 3, his facial features are schematic. He has a round face, a broad nose, almond-shaped eyes, eyebrows that are thin and curved, and his mouth seems to have vanished.[36] On the low table in front of the throne are a golden dharma-wheel, a water flask, a bowl, a butter lamp, and a double drum.

Iconographic Prototype 2
A print (Fig. 5), which was on exhibition in the Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar, shows the fourth Bogdo Gegen. He folds his hands in the gesture of veneration at the front of his heart while holding a vajra (Tib. rdo rje). He wears a black three-lobed hat with a bell-shaped elevation in the center. This hat is crowned by a half rdo rje on the top and is characteristic of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukthus.[37] On the left and right side of the Bogdo Gegen, a monk’s staff and the tantric khaṭvāṅga[38] stick are depicted.

Summary
The fourth Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 4, 5) folds his hand in the gesture of veneration in front of his heart. He can also hold a rdo rje in it (Fig. 5). In fig. 4, he wears a paṇḍita cap, in fig. 5 a black hat. In fig. 5, he his portrayed with a monk’s staff and a khaṭvāṅga on his left and right side.

The Representation of the Fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (1815-1842)

Hagiographical Details
The fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Blo bzang tshul khrims 'jigs med (Mong. Luvsanchültimjigmed) was born in 1815 as the son of a rich Tibetan commoner in Central Tibet. He was enthroned in Ikh Khüree when he was five years old.[39] Tsultem states that according to the sources the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu visited Tibet twice, in the Year of Monkey (1836), where he received the “genen” (Tib. dge bsnyen) Buddhist rank, and in the Year of Rabbit (1843), when he spent time in the Kumbum (Tib. sku ‘bum) and Drepung (Tib. ‘bras spungs) monasteries. In the Year of Pig (1839), he paid visit to the Chinese Qing emperor Daoguang (1782-1850) and also travelled to Wutai shan.[40]

Pozdneyev mentions that hardly any descriptions of the life of the fifth Bodgo Gegen can be found in the Mongol chronicles[41]:

Among the Mongols very few recollections are preserved concerning the fifth Gegen, without a doubt because he made no special impression whatsoever and was completely without character as a personage, having nothing of his own and being fully subject to the influence of the lamas around him. An inclination toward laziness, the absence of any system in his manner of acting, meager ambition, and a wretched servility and shyness of some kind, it seems, make up the only perceptible features of his orders, reports, and acts … Neither the building of new monasteries or temples nor the acquisition of new burkhans [Buddha images] and noms [religious books] nor the establishment of new khurals [assemblies] or religious ceremonies, nothing of this sort was accomplished; no petitions of any sort of relations of Peking or Tibet were undertaken either.[42]

Whereas, in the hagiographies[43] he is described as “an accomplished scholar and writer in his own right, whose writings were ‘pure and melodious…clear and deep…for many, kind and affectionate. Souls are attracted [to his words]. All would mention his wonderful words of faith as of a genuine teacher and of a relative friend…’”[44]

As the Qing did not see any threat in the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu, he was not even invited to court by the Chinese emperor. Indeed, his request for an audience was declined.

Later, the fifth Bogdo Gegen became involved in a bribery affair when Chinese merchants of Ikh Khüree offered him money for presenting their interests to the emperor. Since the Bogdo Gegen failed in completing this task, the merchants accused him of fraud. This provoked a heavy fine, as Pozdneyev writes: “In order to suppress the affair which had arisen in this manner, they say, it cost the Gegen as much as one hundred fifty thousand taels…”[45]

The fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu died in 1842[46] at the age of 27. He was entombed in the Ganden monastery in Ikh Khüree. Pozdneyev writes that the reliquary stūpa with his embalmed body is still there, situated in a special small temple. He describes that the sharil, the mummy of the fifth Bogdo Gegen holds a book on his knees.[47] In fact, he is depicted with a book on most of the paintings I have investigated (Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9). Nevertheless, his iconographic representation varies in all the pictures that I have taken into account (Figs. 6-9).

Iconographic Prototype 1
In the portrait published in Tsybikov’s book, the fifth Bogdo Gegen wears a yellow paṇḍita hat and the threefold monk robes (Fig. 6). His coat is decorated with tendrils and the front side of the upmost sitting cushion features a wavy acanthus- or palm-shaped plant decoration. The backrest of the throne has a curved elaborate design and ends in a tripartite panel at the top, which recalls the cloud-like shape of a lingzhi-mushroom.[48]

The Bogdo Gegen performs the teaching gesture or the gesture of granting refuge with his right hand to the front of his heart, while his left hand rests in a meditative posture in his lap holding a Tibetan book. The rendering of his face resembles figs. 2 and 4. On the side table in front are the same objects as in fig. 4 with an additional bunch of jewels and a bell (Skt. ghaṇṭa; Tib. dril bu).

Iconographical Prototype 2
In the line drawing/ woodcut print of the Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar (Fig. 7), the fifth Bogdo Gegen performs the gesture of teaching/ granting refuge with the right hand while holding a begging bowl and a Tibetan text in his left hand, which rests on his lap in the meditative gesture. The style of the hat, garments, the design of the throne and the facial features resemble the portrait of the third Bogdo Gegen (Fig. 3).

Iconographical Prototype 3

Fig. 5In a Mongolian thangka (Fig. 8) from the nineteenth century, the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu sits on a simple throne seat of cushions and a rounded backrest decorated with a fine golden pattern of plant volutes and framed by a white honor scarf (Tib. kha btags). This simple throne rests on a rectangular, stepped pedestal ornamented with the same flower motifs as the seat. In addition, two Tibetan white lions with golden manes crouch in the woodwork. Behind the seat a more complex curved throne construction with tendril carvings and jewel decoration arises. It is painted in orange and brown and is covered with a golden stylized cloud pattern. Its top panel again has the shape of a lingzhi-mushroom on which a small thangka with the representation of the Buddha Vajradhāra (Tib. rdo rje ’chang) is fixed. His throne is surrounded by a large plant with pinkish lotus or peony buds and jagged leaves in two different shades of green.

The Bogdo Gegen is dressed in threefold lama robes. His inner robe is ocher-colored, long-sleeved and has a black hem with white fur (?) on its collar and sleeves. His outer robe is orange and adorned with a large lotus emblem in the middle, scattered curls, dots and a strip of geometrical, golden patterns. His coat is yellow with a blue lining and billowing folds. On his head, the fifth Bogdo Gegen wears his characteristic black hat (Fig. 5).

The Bogdo Gegen is painted in frontal view. He has a broad face with a big nose and small eyes that stick very close to each other. The dot-shaped pupils focus the viewer. He also has long ears and fleshy, thick lips. His head is surrounded by a green halo.


Fig. 6With his right hand he performs the gesture of granting refuge/ teaching to the heart level and he holds a long-stemmed pink and white lotus flower in it. The blossom has a yellow stamen, jagged leaves in two different shades of green and a prickly stem. His left hand rests in a meditative posture on his lap as he holds a book and a long-life vase with a wish-fulfilling plant in it. The plant is hung with silver strings and three mango fruits are growing in it.

On the left and right side of the throne, two monks are standing.[49] They are depicted in half-profile. Their robes are of the same color and show the same decoration as the Bogdo Gegen’s clothes. Besides that, they wear Mongolian boots (Tib. hor lham/ sog lham). They present a maṇḍala, a golden ritual vase, and white honor scarves as offerings.

In front of the throne stands a table with an orange and pink table cloth that is ornamented with a loosely applied design of clouds. Its sides are reduced in perspective, by which an impression of depth is created. On the table, a range of offerings and ritual objects such as a big blue bowl with lemons (Skt. jambhara; Tib. bi dza pu ra ka) symbolizing abundance, a ritual vase with peacock feathers, a white conch filled with a yellow fluid (supposedly saffron nectar), a tea vessel (?) and another golden bowl are placed side by side.

The background is filled out by a plain, dark-blue sky with pastel-colored clouds in pink. The landscape is covered by steep green hills. These are lined by a dark green strip of plants that has been applied using very fine dots of the brush.

Iconographical Prototype 4
An exceptionally exquisite painting by the Mongolian artist Agvaansharav, the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu’s designated artist[50], in the Fine Arts Museum in Ulaanbaatar (Fig. 9) shows the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu sitting on a multi-layered throne construction.[51] The “simple” throne seat consists of a rectangular blue sitting cushion decorated with a very delicate zig-zag pattern. It is covered with an orange and red cloth with a similar decoration. The backrest is draped with a blue fabric embroidered with a refined golden pattern of Chinese dragons and jewel strings. The toran̩a (throne arch) encompassing the throne seat has the shape of meandering dragons glowing orange with golden scales and tendril tails painted in a monochrome style. Some of the dragons’ heads are crowned with blue jewels. In their claws they carry various precious objects such as strings of multi-colored pearls, golden vessels and jewels they present to the Bogdo Gegen. They are rendered in such a naturalistic and masterly manner that they seem to have become alive and float in the air. Incorporated in the throne pedestal are two Tibetan lions with shining, golden eyes. They elegantly carry the upper part of the woodwork with their paws and are directly looking at the Bogdo Gegen. Their snouts stick out of the frieze which leaves an impression of spatial depth. Special emphasis is put on the execution of the minute metalwork embellishing the pedestal and the garud̩a heads at the end of the upper part.[52]


Fig. 7The throne is surrounded by rainbow-hued, lingzhi-shaped clouds and a network of pink, green and orange flower buds growing on winding branches of bushes. The leaves have the same jagged shape as in fig. 8 and are painted in green and blue shades. They even serve as a support for the lotus thrones of the meditational Buddha deities (Skt. iṣṭa-devatā; Tib. yi dam) Kālacakra (Tib. dus kyi 'khor lo) on the left-hand corner and Cakrasaṃvara (Tib. ’khor lo bde mchog) in union with his female partner Vajravarāhī (Tib. rdo rje phag mo) on the right-hand corner of the picture.

The Bogdo Gegen is depicted frontally and in a slight top view. He has youthful and regular facial features and a radiating light complexion. His expression appears open and determined. A turquoise halo encircles his head. He wears a yellow cap with a red lining and Tibetan monk robes. The inner robe is dark red and golden and ornamented with scattered flowers. The outer robe is of a bright orange color with a rectangular pattern. The coat is of ocher color, has a green lining and a decorative red and black band with a blue cross pattern. It is draped in a circle around the hip of the Bogdo Gegen and its billowing folds are symmetrical.

In front of his heart, the fifth Bogdo Gegen performs the gesture of granting refuge or teaching and in his left hand he holds a Tibetan text and a long-life vase with a wish-fulfilling tree of white blossoms. A pile of Tibetan books (left), a round basket (Skt. pit̩aka; Tib. za ma tog) (right) and a dark-blue begging bowl (left) are illustrated next to and behind the Bogdo Gegen.[53]

Over his head and incorporated in the top of the throne construction is a small portrait of a dGe lugs pa lama.[54] He is seated on a similarly elaborate throne resting on a white lotus flower. He wears the same style of hat and dress as the Bogdo Gegen and also performs the teaching gesture with his right hand. In his left hand, he holds a Tibetan text in his lap. Behind him towers a pyramidal pile of Tibetan texts.


Fig. 8On the table in front of the throne, which is covered with a light blue and red cloth, the eight auspicious things (Skt. aṣṭamaṅgaladravya; Tib. bkra shis rdzas brgyad) and several ritual objects such as a bell, a double drum, a skull cup, a golden dharma-wheel, ritual and water flasks, a vase with white lotus flowers, a tea vessel, and a bowl with food or sweets are arranged. In front of the table, the eight auspicious symbols (Skt. aṣṭamaṅgala; Tib. bkra shis rtags brgyad) (left), the five objects of sensual pleasures (Skt. pañcakāmaguṅa, Tib. ‘dod yon lnga) and the seven possessions of a universal monarch (Skt. saptaratna, Tib. rgyal srid rin chen sna bdun) (right) are depicted amidst white clouds.

This extraordinary portrait of the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu is one of the rare master-pieces in Tibetan and Mongolian art. Particularly striking are the high realism and degree of three-dimensionality of the painting, which is mainly created by an above-perspective, the visual reduction of cushions’ or table’ sides, the circular drapery of the coat, the staggered placement of objects such as the offerings or the items surrounding the Bogdo Gegen and the overlapping of elements such as the dragons’ bodies or the lions and the throne pedestal.

As Uranchimeg Tsultem argues, the artist Agvaansharav deliberately uses the styles from three cultures, which Paola Mortari Vergara Caffarelli terms as “International Gelupga style”.[55] He neglects the Mongolian design of monastic robes, and instead renders the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu in Tibetan garments, wearing a yellow hat and carrying the major attributes of Tibetan Buddhism. Besides that, he depicts Gelug-favored deities and Chinese imperial indices such as the dragons. According to Tsultem, the artist “aims to be visually fluent, and thereby properly read, in all three cultures” (Mongolian, Tibetan and Chinese).[56]

Summary

Fig. 9For the representation of the fifth Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 6-9) several iconographic types exist.

In fig. 6, he raises his right hand in the gesture of granting refuge or teaching in front of his heart. In his left hand resting in his lap in the meditative gesture he holds a Tibetan book. He wears a paṇḍita hat. In fig. 7, he performs the same hand gestures. In his left he holds a book and a begging bowl. He wears a paṇḍita cap, too. In fig. 8, he performs the gesture of granting refuge/ teaching with his right hand in which he also holds a long-stemmed lotus flower. His left hand rests in his lap in the meditative gesture as he holds a Tibetan book and a long-life vase with a plant inside. He wears a black hat and Mongolian-style robes. Fig. 9 shows him with the same gestures and attributes, however, the lotus flower was omitted. He wears a yellow dGe lugs pa hat. His face is bright and youthful and he has slightly protruding ears. He is surrounded by various items such as a monk’s stuff, a khaṭvāṅga, a bowl and Tibetan texts.

The Representations of the Sixth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (1842-1848)

Hagiographical Details
The sixth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Blo bzang dpal ldan bstan pa (Mong. Luvsantüvdenchoyjijaltsan) was born in Central Tibet as the son of a donkey shepherd at the end of 1842 when the fifth Bogdo Gegen had died.

Altogether, nearly five thousand Khalkhas went to Tibet to meet the new Khutukhtu. It cost the Mongols nearly twenty wang taels of silver, that is, approximately four hundred thousand silver rubles, in order to make contributions to the monasteries here, to present gifts to the Dalai Lama and the Pan chen-erdeni [Panchen lama], and finally to return to Khalkha.[57]

Unfortunately, the young Bogdo Gegen caught smallpox and died before he was even six years old. His remains were interred in a gilded reliquary stūpa in Shajini-badaragulukchimonastery.[58]

Iconographic Prototype 1

Fig. 10In the portrait in Tsybikov’s book the sixth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (Fig. 10) wears his characteristic black hat and his inner robe shows the black fur hem on the collar and sleeves. The coat is decorated with round flower emblems, the inside of which consists of crisscross lines.

With his right hand he performs the teaching/ granting refuge gesture and he holds a lotus flower in it on which there is a Tibetan book (?). His left hand rests in a meditative gesture on his lap and he holds a long-life vase with a plant in it. He has a broad, round face and his eyes are relatively wide apart from each other. Nevertheless, his features are as schematic as the faces of the previous Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 2, 4, 6).

Iconographic Prototype 2
In the line drawing/ woodcut print of the Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar (Fig. 11) he also wears a black hat, performs the same hand gestures, and holds the same attributes in his hands. The only difference is that a bell is placed on the lotus.

Summary
In fig. 10, the sixth Bogdo Gegen performs the gesture of granting refuge/ teaching with his right hand at the level of his heart, holding a long-stemmed lotus flower on which a book and a rdo rje (?) are placed. His left hand rests in his lap in the meditative gesture and he holds a long-life vase with a plant inside. In fig. 11, he performs the same hand gestures and holds the same attributes with the only difference that a rdo rje and a bell lie on the lotus flower. In both representations he wears the black hat and Mongolian robes.

The Representation of the Seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (1850-1868)

Hagiographical Details

Fig. 11The seventh rJe btsun dam pa Kuthukthu Ngag dbang chos kyi dbang phyug 'phrin las rgya mtsho (Mong. Agvaanchoyjivanchugperenlaijamts) was born in 1850, not far from Lhasa as the son of a simple Tibetan layman. He was declared the rebirth of the sixth Bogdo Gegen when he was one year old. At the age of four he received the initial monk vows. In 1855, he was taken to Ikh Khüree where he was enthroned as the seventh Bogdo Gegen. He studied the Buddhist writings from seven until the age of twelve.

According to Pozdneyev, from early on the young Bogdo Gegen felt attracted to art. Under the direction of a kind old lama at his court, he spent most of his time building Buddhist figures, “even up to the most complicated of burkhans [buddhas].”[59] As Tsultem states, the hagiography[60] of the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Kuthukthu describes him as “a talented learner at young age whose goals are well summarized in his own words: ‘do best in studying, pray for the welfare and prosperity of the Lord Bogd [Manchu emperor]; spread the Yellow faith of Buddhism and pray for the pleasure of bringing the entire world to happiness.’”[61]

As he grew older, the local ruler Tsetsen Khan, Arthasiddha, befriended his sons with the Bogdo Gegen and gradually acquainted him with the pleasures of the worldly life. Thus, the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu slowly got more and more estranged from his court lamas, his relatives and devotees through the influence of the Khan’s sons.

He would frequently remove himself to his palace outside the city, and there he spent his time with somewhat more freedom than in the city. Gay drinking bouts, tobacco, and finally the company of indecent women – this all gave rise to a large number of tales about the various episodes in the hutukhtu’s life.[62]

The excessive behavior of the Bogdo Gegen finally caused his lamas to ask the Chinese officials in Ikh Khüree for help. As a consequence, a decree was issued in 1866 “concerning the bringing to trial and punishment of any lama who might be caught leading his life or spending time in a way not fitting for a clerical person.”[63] Therefore, the Bogdo Gegen was forced to limit his excesses. Still, after a while it became so bad that as a consequence the closest friends of the Bogdo Gegen, such as the Tsetsen Khan’s son, got expelled from Ikh Khüree.[64]

In 1868, the Bogdo Gegen fell ill and died on December 14 at the age of 18.

Many people attribute the hutukhtu’s death to the removal of his friends.[65]

Iconographical Prototype 1

Fig. 12The representation of the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (Fig. 12) in Tsybikov’s book is nearly identical to the portrait of the sixth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (Fig. 10). The black hat, the style of the garments, the facial features and the hand gestures correspond with fig. 10. The items he holds in his hands are the same as in fig. 12. On the right side, over his left shoulder an additional lotus flower grows but no object lies on it. Here, the throne merely consists of the piled sitting cushions and the rounded backrest painted in a monochrome style.

Iconographical Prototype 2
A thangka painting in the Bogdo Khan Palace Museum in Ulaanbaatar depicts the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu in front view (Fig. 13). He sits on a throne seat of several rainbow-colored cushions with a rounded backrest which is draped with a white honor scarf and a red cloth that shows a delicate design of golden stylized flowers and jewel strings. The throne pedestal is kept in a simple, unadorned style without the sumptuous jewel decoration and the Tibetan lions as in figs. 8, 9. As in figs. 6, 9, and 11 the throne seat is embedded in a bigger latticed backrest construction with volute-shaped beams in red and gold. It is draped with a golden cloth that is adorned with a very fine monochrome pattern. At the top is a linghzi-shaped panel in which a kīrtimukha[66] holding some golden strings with jewels in his claws has been incorporated. The whole construction is crowned with a facetted blue jewel. Above it in the sky there is a blue, yellow and red honor parasol, an old Indian symbol for royalty and protection. The throne is surrounded by clusters of rainbow clouds and a plant with small leaves shaded in gold, many-colored fruits and two circular pink lotus or peony flowers.


Fig. 13The blue bodhisattva Vajradhāra (left side) and a form of Yama (Tib. gshin rje) in union (Tib. yab yum)[67] with his female partner (right side) appear among linghzi-shaped softly colored clouds in the blue sky. The dharma protectors (Skt. dharmapāla; Tib. chos skyong) Yama riding together with his partner on a bull amidst flames (left side) and the red Beg tse (right side) are represented at the lower border of the painting.

As far as the figure of the seventh Bogdo Gegen is concerned, he is portrayed with the same hand gestures and carries the same attributes as the sixth Bogdo Gegen in fig. 10. With his right hand he performs the gesture of teaching or refuge and holds a lotus flower with a book on it; his left hand rests in the meditative gesture in his lap and holds a long-life vase with a tree in it.[68] However, the reproduction of the face varies in some ways. The seventh Bogdo Gegen has a pointed face with a high forehead and a yellow complexion. His eyes lie close to each other, and his nose and the tiny red mouth are painted in an asymmetrical way. Because his neck is not visible he has a fairly stocky appearance. His head is surrounded by a green halo with a pink lining.


Fig. 14Concerning the style and color of the clothes, the inner and outer robes resemble that of the fifth Bogdo Gegen in fig. 8. The plain ocher color and the blue lining allow a comparison with fig. 8 while the red and black patterned decorative strip is similar to that in fig. 9. As in figs. 10, 11 and 13, he wears the black trilobate hat on his head.

The blue shades of the sky and the green shades of the landscape have been applied by color graduations. The landscape fills two thirds of the composition and consists of steep green hills on which vegetation grows, wish-fulfilling trees hung with golden strings, rivers and jagged rock formations.

On the table in front of the throne, several offerings and ritual objects have been displayed (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12). The bowl in front of the table contains an offering of the five senses and on the ground triple assemblies of jewels flanked by elephant tusks are placed.

The colors are bright and the yellow shades dominating the composition form a strong contrast to the cooler blue and green tones in the background.

Iconographical Prototype 3
A rather simple, but still very striking painting of the Leder collection also shows the seventh Bogdo Gegen. He sits on a pink cushion which rests on a red and blue throne pedestal framed by a green decorative strip of stylized lotus leaves at the upper and lower rim. In its woodwork two white Tibetan lions with big muzzles crouch, supporting the upper beam with their paws. The blue backrest is lined by a white honor scarf and decorated with a golden curly pattern applied in a loose and dynamic manner. Behind his throne seat the big toraṇa-like construction rises with volute- and tendril-shaped beams in red, golden and dark brown.

The Bogdo Gegen wears the black hat framed by a red and white line. His inner robe is red and has black hem at the collar and sleeves with a white furry outline. His outer robe is orange and shows a simple but eye-catching golden pattern of curls. His coat is yellow and unadorned. The folds of his clothes are defined by dynamic outlines.

The seventh Bogdo Gegen has a big oval-shaped and expressive face, a broad nose, full lips, and a slightly protruding chin. His complexion is white and he has long ears and very big hands. He performs the gesture of teaching/ granting refuge with his right hand in front of his heart and he holds a lotus flower with a prickly stem, large jagged leaves and a pink and white blossom on which a book and a sword – the emblems of the bodhisattva of wisdom Mañjuśrī – lie. In his left hand he holds a long-life vase with a tree in his lap.[69] His head is surrounded by a mint-green halo.

As in fig. 8, two assistant monks stand on the left and right side of the throne. They are depicted in profile and at a much smaller scale. They wear Tibetan robes in different red and brown shades and Mongolian boots. The figure on the left offers a maṇḍala and an honor scarf, the figure on the right a golden vessel and an honor scarf.


Fig. 15The dark brown offering table in front of the throne has a stepped shape and tapers at the top and the bottom. Placed on it are a blue bowl with fruits, a golden ritual vase with peacock feathers, a double drum, jewels, a tea vessel, and a white conch with yellow fluid.

The sky is ultramarine blue without any color graduations. It is filled with pink, green, and gray clouds and the white moon and red sun shine in it. In the background there are hill slopes dotted with a dark green plant cover. They are of the same green color as the Bogdo Gegen’s halo.

Although the painting style is quite sketchy and imprecise and the colors are applied in a thick way, the composition conveys a very lively and dynamic impression. This effect is mainly the result of quickly applied lines, the scattered curly pattern and the vivid contrast of the bright blue and shining yellow colors.

Iconographical Prototype 4
An exceptional appliqué thangka (Fig. 16) portrays the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu. Other than in the representations already discussed, he is rendered in a three-quarter profile and is positioned somewhat to the right side of the picture.


Fig. 16The Bogdo Gegen is seated on a thick cushion of a cloth ornamented which a geometrical pattern. It rests on a simple low throne pedestal adorned with jewels and tendrils. Furthermore, a small rectangular drapery with a golden background and colorful lotus flowers is fixed in its middle. The backrest is draped with a dark-blue cloth with a pattern of golden flower and a white scarf framing the border. The additional throne construction in the background is covered with another cloth showing a complex meander and lotus pattern. The lingzhi-shaped top panel, adorned with blue jewels, is half-covered with rainbow-hued clouds.

The Bogdo Gegen performs the gesture of teaching/ granting refuge at his heart and in his left hand he holds a golden long-life vase with a tree and indicated mango fruits. He has long fingers with red finger nails, black hair, and a round and somewhat chubby face as in fig. 13. On his head he wears a black hat and he is surrounded by a light-blue halo. He wears a red inner robe with long sleeves that is adorned with delicate flower motifs and has a black collar and a blue lining. His outer robe is coral red and its folds are defined by golden shimmering outlines. His coat is ocher-colored and has a light blue lining and a decorative strip of the same pattern as the cloth covering the larger backrest. Its pleats are contoured by lively and elegant lines.


Fig. 17In the clouds above the Bogdo Gegen’s head appears the red Buddha Amitābha (Tib. ‘od dpag med). He is depicted frontally and sits on a lotus and on a moon disc. Further to the left is a dGe lugs pa lama. He is illustrated at a larger scale and in profile. He wears a yellow paṇḍita hat. Holding a Tibetan text, his left hand rests in a meditative gesture in his lap. With his right hand he performs the gesture of teaching and holds a lotus with a sword.[70] He sits on a throne with the same blue backrest and patterned cushion as the Bogdo Gegen. Even the style of the red outer robe and the ocher-colored coat is exactly the same.

On the left side of his throne stands a male figure with black hair wearing a golden robe with a black hem and a blue lining and a red coat. He has his head raised and looks at the Bogdo Gegen, whom he offers an honor scarf.

What is quite special about this composition is that all figures are connected with each other via eye contact in a very subtle way. While the red Buddha looks straight out of the picture to the viewer, the dGe lugs pa lama looks at the Bogdo Gegen, who focuses the monk who in return looks back at the Bogdo Gegen. Furthermore, the zig-zag placement of the figures and the similar style of thrones and garments are uniting elements, which, in a broader sense, express the spiritual connection of the figures and the transmission lineage, respectively. The golden shimmering thread that is used for outlining the garments as well as the hat and the mandorla of the Bogdo Gegen helps to create some sort of transparent or even transcendent atmosphere. By variations in the figures’ size, their staggered placement and the overlapping of elements such as the clouds with the backrest and the mandorla of the Bogdo Gegen a certain degree of spatial depth is achieved.

Iconographical Prototype 5
The Leder collection of the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart/ Germany hosts two rare statues of clay and papier mâché which represent the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu[71] (Figs. 17, 18). In both images he performs the gesture of discussion or teaching/ granting refuge with the right hand at the level of his heart and holds a vase in his left hand which rests on his lap in the meditative gesture. He wears the black hat of the Bogdo Gegens and the Mongolian lama dress with the black collar and sleeves.[72] His face is round and somewhat chubby. In fig. 17, he is portrayed with big eyes and large pupils; in fig. 18 the eye line is drawn more upward and the pupils either had not been painted or they have vanished. In fig. 17, the folds of the outer robe fall in pretty wavy lines. Moreover, the clothes seem to merge with the plinth which is decorated with continuous meandering clouds.

Summary
The seventh Bogdo Gegen is also represented in several different ways (Figs. 12-18).

In fig. 12, he performs the gesture of granting refuge/ teaching with his right hand and holds a lotus flower on which a rdo rje and a bell lie. His left hand rests in his lap in the meditative gesture and he holds a vase with a plant inside. Behind his left shoulder grows another lotus flower without any item. In figs. 14 and 15, he performs the same hand gestures and holds the same attributes. A book and a sword are placed on the lotus flower. In fig. 13, only the book lies on the lotus while the sword was omitted. In figs. 16-18, the lotus flower was omitted. In all portraits he wears a Mongolian hat and robes. He has a broad, round face, which in some representations, appears even chubby (Figs. 13, 16-18).

The Representation of the Eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu (1870 – 20th of May 1924)

Biographical Details
Despite Khalkha hopes, the eighth and last incarnation of the line was born once again in Tibet, this time to a family led by one of the managers of the Dalai Lama's estates. Easily bored, this Bogdo Gegen at first diverted himself harmlessly enough with mechanical toys, clocks, illustrated journals from Europe, and a large menagerie of stuffed, exotic animals … By 1885 he had become violent, beating his monks and landing blows on innocent bystanders. He spent his time with a rough, rowdy crowd, hardly monastic, and took numerous lovers, male and female. Yet it was he who was called on to lead Mongolia into the modern era; when the Manchu Qing dynasty fell to the forces of the new Chinese Republic in 1911, the Bogdo Gegen became the Bogdo Khan – the enlightened khan – assuming the Mongol title the Qing had usurped centuries before for themselves.[73]

The eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Ngag dbang blo bzang chos rje nyi ma bstan 'dzin dbang phyug (Mong. Agvaanluvsanchoyjindanzanvaanchigbalsambuu) was born in 1870 as the son of a Tibetan official, a manager of the economic division at the Dalai Lama’s palace.

According to Pozdneyev, the boy was recognized as the incarnation of the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu in the Potala Palace by the 13th Dalai Lama Thub bstan rgya mtsho (1876-1933) following the issue of the Chinese Qing court. In 1874, the Khalka delegation returned from Tibet to Ikh Khüree along with the baby Bogdo Gegen and his father, mother, and brothers. He grew up very peacefully with his family and teachers.[74]

Pozdneyev mentions that when his mother died in 1887, “the hutukhtu began leading the same reprehensible life as his predecessor had led.” The 17-year-old boy organized drinking parties, began to smoke, play cards, and spend the time in the company of women. According to Pozdneyev, he also showed aggressive behavior. He is reported to have enjoyed crashing into people on horseback in the streets or baiting dogs at pedestrians. Once, he allegedly set an old lama’s beard on fire by wetting it with kerosene. When the young Bogdo Gegen went so far to commit a crime,[75] the lamas rose up against him, and some of his closest friends were arrested.

[The people] looked on his every eccentricity as something mysterious and tried to explain his very exploit in his favor on the basis of their sacred books.[76]

The Bogdo Gegen more and more withdrew from Ikh Khüree into his summer palace outside of Züün Khüree city on the shores of the Tuula river. He possessed a huge collection of clocks, watches, mechanical toys and European journals as well as luxury items like furs, precious stones, weapons etc. to pass the time.[77] Besides that, he enjoyed all the privileges and pleasures of a secular monarch. He was married twice. His first consort was Ekh Dagin (“Mother ḍākinī”). She died in 1923 and was replaced by the wife of a wrestler “who let her go with a shrug.” Like her husband, she led an excessive life and had affairs with numerous lovers.[78]


Fig. 18Due to his excessive lifestyle, the Bogdo Gegen/ Khan finally fell ill with tertiary syphilis and blindness. In order to cure his blindness, a massive image of a special iconographic form of Avalokiteśvara (Tib. sPyan ras gzigs)[79] was commissioned and housed in a temple at Ganden monastery in Ikh Khüree. Furthermore, supporters of the Bogdo Gegen commissioned 10,000 figurines of the Buddha of Limitless Life (Skt. Amitāyus; Tib. tshe dpag med), wishing to prolong his life with them. Nevertheless, the eighth Bogdo Gegen died in 1924, a year after his wife, at the age of 54.[80]

After his death, the Mongolian People's Republic was installed and the Communist government declared that no more reincarnations of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu ought to be found. However, the 14th Dalai Lama bsTan ‘dzin rgya mtsho (born in 1935) identified the ninth Bogdo Gegen in a Tibetan boy, born in 1932 in Lhasa. This was not officially announced until the collapse of the USSR and the establishment of a democratic system in Mongolia. In 1991, the ninth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu 'Jam dpal rnam grol chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1932-2013) was formally enthroned in Dharamsala/ India by the 14th Dalai Lama, and in Ulaanbaatar in 1999.[81]

Iconographical Prototype 1

At present time, the khubilgan [tulku] of the Jebtsun Damba hutukhtu is nearly twenty-two years old; in height he is a little below the average, and he is thin; his face is somehow yellow, without the slightest sign of color, and still more unpleasant by virtue of the expression of some sort of childish willfulness and capricious stubbornness which is always present in it, and also form the lips, which are extraordinarily sensuous in their development. The adjoining portrait [see fig. 19] which I was successful in taking, presents him seated in one of the halls of his summer palace in the costume that he ordinarily wears at home.[82]

In two photographs from the beginning of the twentieth century (Figs. 19, 20), the eighth Bogdo Gegen is portrayed sitting on a chair in a “western” pose (Skt. bhadrāsana; Tib. bzang po’i ‘dug stangs). He wears a Manchu-style robe with broad white cuffs at the sleeves, traditional Mongolian boots and a black hat. The hat looks slightly different as in the portraits already shown (Figs. 8, 10, 11-18). It has a trapezoid round shape with a small elevation at the center and is crowned with a stone or some sort of a flame. Both hands rest on his thighs and in his right hand he holds a prayer bead (Skt. mālā; Tib. phreng ba). He has an oval facial shape, protruding ears, almond-shaped eyes, a broad nose and full lips with the corners of his mouth pointing down. His expression is quite serious and melancholic at the same time.

Iconographical Prototype 2

Bogdo Gegeen’s writings, where he instructs about devotion to faith and proper discipline, and his portraits, which show him first and foremost as a monk suggest that he was aware of his degradation, and took active measures to create yet another image of himself for his people.[83]

Fig. 19In the painting by Mongolian painter Baldugiin “Marzan”[84] Sharav (1869-1939), the eighth Bogdo Gegen shows photorealistic features. Therefore, it seems obvious that the artist used the photographs in figs. 19, 20 or even another specific photograph, as Uranchimeg Tsultem and Patricia Berger suggest, as a visual guideline. The Bogdo Gegen has an oval or even square face with a high forehead, large protruding ears, full lips and the corners of his mouth point slightly down. His complexion is dark and he does not wear a hat. The halo usually surrounding the heads of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus was omitted as well.[85] Both hands rest on his knees and he holds a prayer bead in his right hand. He wears the traditional Tibetan lama robes. The inner robe is dark brown and adorned with a golden strip showing colorful lotus flowers. Underneath he wears a yellow long-sleeved shirt. His dark brown coat is thrown diagonally over his left shoulder and has deep folds.


Fig. 20The Bogdo Gegen sits in frontal view and slightly moved to the right side in the meditative posture on a throne of which only a detail is visible. The triple rounded backrest is lavishly ornamented with colorful Chinese clouds and dragon motifs. Above the Bogdo Gegen’s head is an honor canopy with a green curtain-like frame and a red ceiling decorated with the eight auspicious symbols. The background consists of a blue brocade fabric with thin yellow and red stripes, which reminds of a thangka frame. In front of the Bogdo Gegen stands a small wooden side table engraved with traditional Mongolian meander patterns. A silver bell and a double drum with a pennant and rainbow-colored tassels fixed on it lie on it. To the left and right sides of the table stand a silver ritual vase with a bunch of peacock feathers inside and a small silver vessel. On the left side the detail of another side board with a tea cup on top can be seen.[86] Behind it there is a clock with Roman digits that may be one of the Khutukhtu’s “974 wall clocks and pocket watches of various sizes and made of different materials.”[87]

Iconographical Prototype 3

Fig. 21Another portrait by Mongolian artist B. M. Sharav represents the eighth Bogdo Gegen in a more traditional style (Fig. 22). He is seated in frontal view in the center of the painting on a simple throne of cushions and a rounded backrest resting on a pedestal with lions. As in figs. 6, 8, 10, 13, 14, the seat is part of a larger elaborate construction. The Bogdo Gegen is surrounded by a green halo framed by the volutes of the above panel (Figs. 8, 13, 14). Behind the throne grow large peony or lotus flowers. At the upper rim of the painting is a large honor parasol decorated with a white waving scarf. On its left and right sides, the moon and the sun shine in the blue sky which fills the background. In front of the throne there are two side tables of different height, one behind the other. On top of the second one is another small table with a similar ornamentation as in fig. 21. Also, some of the ritual objects like the double drum, the bulbous vessel or the vase with the peacock feathers can be found in the other portrait. Two small side figures stand on either side of the throne. The monk on the left presents a Tibetan book. The other person is dressed differently; he has a beard and raises his head, looking at the Bogdo Gegen. Therefore this person could be a Mongolian or Chinese official or the sponsor who is portrayed offering a maṇḍala.

The facial features and the dark skin of the Bogdo Gegen are almost identical as in the other portrait by Sharav (Fig. 21). In his right hand he holds a golden rdo rje at the level of his heart and in his left hand rests a silver bell at his hip.[88] The style of the inner robe resembles that of figs. 9 and 21, while the coat with the strikingly patterned decoration strip can also be found in figs. 9 and 14. The black cap with the yellow pointed elevation seems to be a combination of the paṇḍita and a version of the black hat[89] that is furnished with a fur rim in this painting. The various ritual objects – Tibetan books, the begging bowl (right side), monk’s staff and khaṭvāṅga – placed behind the Bogdo Gegen can also be seen in the portraits of the fourth (Fig. 5) and fifth (Fig. 9) Bogdo Gegens.

Iconographical Prototype 4

Fig. 22In another painted portrait (Fig. 23), the eighth Bogdo Gegen is represented in a very similar manner as in fig. 22. He shows related facial features, and the hand gestures and ritual objects he holds in his hands are identical to fig. 22. He wears a yellow paṇḍita hat limited with a red strip. His head is surrounded by a green halo. His inner robe and the cloth covering the rear backrest of the throne are adorned with golden dots and curls. The folds of the orange outer robe are defined by thick, sweeping lines. The circular drapery of the yellow coat reminds of the one in the portrait of the fifth Bogdo Gegen (Fig. 9). The golden backrest of the throne with the colorful Chinese cloud pattern and the various ritual objects behind the Bogdo Gegen resemble the one Sharav’s portrait (Fig. 22). Likewise the subject of the two monks presenting gifts – a maṇḍala offering and a pile of book scrolls – is employed here. Other than in fig. 22, the portrait is embedded into a hill landscape. As in figs. 9, 13 and 15, smaller side figures are painted at the upper and lower end of the painting. In the blue sky appears the triad of Buddha Vajradhāra (middle), Tsong kha pa (left) and Vajravarāhī (Tib. rdo rje phag mo) (right) and on the ground two dhala (Tib. dgra lha),[90] Mongolian protector spirits (left, right) and a small portrait of the consort of the eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu, Dondogdulam, known as Ekh Dagin.[91]

A very colorful appliqué thangka which most probably dates to the middle of the 20th century shows a rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu who wears the same style of monk robes and the yellow hat and exhibits the same hand gestures and attributes as the eighth Bogdo Gegen in figs. 22 and 23. However, in contrast to the portraits in figs. 21, 22, 23 and 25 the face is rendered in a very stylized manner. The ornate throne construction with spiral endings, incorporated jewels and a mushroom-shaped top mainly resembles the backrests in figs. 22 and 23. The central arrangement of offerings and ritual implements also shows close parallels to the ones in figs. 22 and 23. The perspective shortening of both sides of the throne pedestal is a stylistic element that solely occurs on thangkas from the middle (?) of the 20th century. Considering the iconography, the image composition and particular style elements this appliqué thangka most likely rather depicts the eighth than the fifth Bogdo Gegen as indicated by N. Tsultem.[92]

Iconographical Prototype 5
A simple line drawing (Fig. 25) shows the eighth Bogdo Gegen sitting on a throne of three cushions that are lying on a pedestal that is supported by lions and a triple rounded backrest. At the front it is decorated with a rectangular banner showing a double rdo rje (Skt. viśva-vajra; Tib. rdo rje rgya gram) surrounded by four swastika symbols. While the throne, the clothes and part of the hat are rendered by a fine outline, his face was painted in a photorealistic manner, or it was directly cut out of a photograph (Fig. 20). The trilobate black hat and the black hem of his inner robe were accentuated with black color. With his right hand he performs the gesture of granting refuge or discussion and in his left hand he holds a vajra in his lap. A total of three vajra or rdo rje are attached along the central composition line: a half vajra crowning his hat, the vajra he holds in his hand, and the double vajra emblem on the banner.

Summary
In the two photographs (Figs. 19, 20), the eighth Bogdo Gegen is portrayed sitting on a chair in the “western pose” (Skt. bhadrāsana; Tib. bzang po’i ‘dug stangs). He wears the black hat, which looks slightly different than in the portraits of the previous rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus, an official dress and pointed boots. Both hands rest on his knees and in his left hand he holds a prayer bead. In fig. 21, he sits in the meditative posture and both hands again rest on his thighs or knees. In the right hand he holds a prayer bead. He has got a bald head, does not wear a hat, and the halo is missing. His facial features correspond with figs. 19 and 20. He is dressed in Tibetan and Mongolian-style robes. In fig. 22, the eighth Bogdo Gegen is portrayed with similar facial features as in fig. 21. He wears a specific black hat with a pointed elevation in the middle. In his right hand, he holds a golden rdo rje in front of his chest and in his left hand a silver bell in his lap. In fig. 23 he is represented with the same iconographic features as in fig. 22, but he wears a yellow hat. Behind him, a monk’s staff, a khaṭvāṅga stick, an alms bowl and books are placed. Furthermore, he is attended by two monks, several Buddha figures and his wife. In fig. 23, he performs the gesture of discussion/ granting refuge with his right hand. His left hand rests in his lap in the meditative gesture and he holds a vajra in it. The face is painted in a photorealistic way or it is a collage while the rest of the composition is a simple line drawing. The halo is missing in this particular portrait.

Summary

The above comparison of painted (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12-14, 21-23), drawn (Figs. 3, 5, 7, 11, 14, 24, 25), appliqué (Fig. 16, 24), sculpted (Figs. 17, 18) and photographed (Figs. 19, 20) portraits of the third to eighth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukthus illustrates that several types of representation concerning their iconography, facial features and the style of portraits were developing in Mongolian Buddhist art.

Most of the portraits discussed are part of a set of portraits showing the successive incarnations of the Bogdo Gegens (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12; 3, 5, 7, 11). Unfortunately, these sets are often incomplete because of destruction, sale, or a lack of documentation in secondary literature and in the exhibition catalogues. The majority of the artworks originates in the nineteenth to the beginning or – as I suggest – even to the middle of the twentieth century and was manufactured in Mongolia or in the Tibetan, Chinese and Mongolian border region (Figs. 17, 18; compare footnote 62). Three of the portraits were painted by two famous Mongolian artists of the early twentieth century, Agvaansharav (Fig. 9) and Baldugiin “Marzan” Sharav (1869-1939) (Figs. 21, 22).

Iconographical Details
As far as the iconography of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus is concerned, two categories can be distinguished. First, individual features like hand gestures (Skt. mudrā; Tib. phyag rgya), sitting positions, attributes, and appearances that are specific for the portraiture of each Bogdo Gegen. Second, common features like garments and headgear that are similar in the representation of all Bogdo Gegens.

In all the portraits discussed, the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus are depicted sitting in the vajra or lotus position (Skt. vajraparyaṅka, padmaparyaṅka, dhyānāsana; Tib. rdo rje skyil krung) with both legs fully crossed.[93] The only exception is two photographs of the eighth Bogdo Gegen showing him in the “western” sitting posture (Skt. bhadrāsana; Tib. bzang po’i ‘dug stangs) (Figs. 19, 20).

The most prevailing hand gesture is the gesture of granting refuge (Skt. śaraṇagamana-mudrā; Tib. skyabs sbyin gyi phyag rgya) or discussion or teaching respectively (Skt. vitarka-mudrā). It is performed with the right hand at the level of the heart while the thumb touches the index or ring finger, forming a circle.[94] This gesture is always combined with the meditative gesture (Skt. dhyānamudrā; Tib. mnyam bzhag phyag rgya). It is carried out with the left hand resting in the lap while the palm of the hand is turned upwards (Figs. 3, 6, 7-18, 22-25). In one portrait, the third Bogdo Gegen performs the meditative gesture with both hands (Fig. 3). The fourth Bogdo Gegen folds his hands in the gesture of greeting or veneration (Skt. añjali, kṛitañjali; Tib. thal mo sbyar ba) in front of his chest (Figs. 4, 5). The eighth Bogdo Gegen is also portrayed with both hands resting on his thighs (Figs. 19, 20, 21).

A long-life vase (Tib. tshe bum) filled with the nectar of immortality (Skt. amṛta; Tib. bdud rtsi) is the most common object; the third (Fig. 3), the fifth (Figs. 8, 9), the sixth (Figs. 10, 11) and the seventh (Figs. 12-18) rJe btsun dampa Khutukthus hold it in their left hand[95]. The vase is sometimes held together with a Tibetan book (Figs. 8, 9). The book can also be held alone (Figs. 6, 8). In one portrait, the fifth Bogdo Gegen holds the book together with an alms bowl (Fig. 7). Another popular item that occurs in connection with the representation of the fifth (Fig. 8), sixth (Figs. 10, 11) and seventh Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 12-15) is the lotus flower. It has a long stem and further items such as a book (Figs. 10, 13), a book and a sword (Figs. 15, 16), a bell (Fig. 13) or a rdo rje and a bell (Fig. 12) can be placed on its stamen. Usually, they hold it in their right hand. In a portrait of the sixth Bogdo Gegen (Fig. 11) a second lotus flower grows on his left side. The rdo rje (Skt. vajra) occurs in representations of the fourth (Fig. 5) and eighth (Figs. 24, 25) Bogdo Gegen. In most portraits of the eighth (Figs. 22-24) Bogdo Gegen he holds it in the right hand at the level of the heart while in their left hand they hold a silver bell (Skt. ghānṭā; Tib. dril bu) in their lap as a complement. In figs. 19, 20 and 21, the eighth Bogdo Gegen holds a prayer bead (Skt. mālā; Tib. phreng ba) in either his left or right hand.

Except for the eighth Bogdo Gegen, whose face was most probably painted after photographs (Figs. 19, 20) of him (Figs. 21-23, 25), all other Bogdo Gegens are represented with schematized faces and simplified facial features mimicking the perfect, idealized look of a Buddha’s face (Figs. 2-13, 15, 24). Most of them have round (Figs. 2-5, 7, 8, 10-12, 14, 15) or oval (Figs. 6, 9, 24) faces with a broad nose, almond-shaped eyes, and a tiny mouth.[96] Sometimes, the chin is separately accentuated by additional lines (Figs. 3, 7, 11, 14-16). The features are symmetric without any irregularities or wrinkles and the skin is bright. Therefore, the third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh Bogdo Gegen have a youthful appearance. In some portraits (Figs. 13, 15-17) the seventh Bogdo Gegen has a big, round and even chubby face. The eighth Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 19-25) has a dark complexion, a broad nose, protruding ears, thick lips and the corners of the mouth hang down. In fig. 21, he is portrayed with a bald head. Depending on the technique of the artist, the position of the eyes – narrow or apart –, the interval between eyes and eyebrows and the shape of the mouth – thin or full lips etc. – can vary. An exception among the naturalistic portraits of the eighth Bogdo Gegen is fig. 24 in which he is shown with completely stylized features.

In most of the representations the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukthus are dressed in characteristic Tibetan threefold monk robes. The inner or lower cloth (Tib. mthang gos) is diagonally tied across the chest and has no sleeves. It is dark red and golden yellow and sometimes ornamented with colorful flowers motifs, golden dots and curls (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 9, 21-24). Above it, the monks wear a half skirt (Tib. sham thabs)[97] fixed by a belt underneath the breast. The outer robe (Tib. bla gos) is a piece of cloth or a shawl covering both shoulders and the left arm. In most cases it is orange (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 14, 22-24), red (Fig. 16) or brown (Fig. 21) and ornamented with golden flower emblems, dots, curls, stripes (Figs. 8, 13, 14) or a rectangular geometric pattern (Fig. 9). Over these garments the Bogdo Gegens wear a yellow or ocher-colored coat which can have a blue (Figs. 8, 13, 14, 16, 22, 23) or green (Fig. 9) or even purple (Fig. 24) lining. In some depictions it is bordered by a thin decoration strip exhibiting a very specific pattern in red, black and blue (Figs. 9, 13, 22). The coat falls in symmetrical, billowing folds or can be draped in a circular form around the Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 9, 23). In addition to this clothing style, the Bogdo Gegens wear a yellow pointed paṇḍita cap (Figs. 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 23, 24).

The Mongolian version of the inner cloth is a long-sleeved golden or red shirt with a black-and-white fur (?) application at the hem and cuffs (Figs. 8, 10-18, 25). It can show delicate flower (Figs. 16, 25) or curl ornaments (Figs. 8, 14). In fig. 21 the eighth Bogdo Gegen wears a combination of both Tibetan and Mongolian style. Along with this clothing style, the Bogdo Gegens are portrayed with a black tripartite hat with a golden bell-shaped elevation in the middle and crowned with a half rdo rje (Figs. 5, 8, 11-19, 25). In fig. 21 the eighth Bogdo Gegen does not wear a hat at all. Usually, the head of the Bogdo Gegens is surrounded by a green or blue (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 14, 15, 22-24) halo (Figs. 2, 4, 5, 6, 10, 12). In some representations it was omitted (Figs. 3, 7, 11, 15, 21, 24).

Compositional and Stylistic Details
Several types exist for the layout of the compositions which includes the placement of figures, the design of the background and details like thrones, vegetation, side tables, and offerings.

The majority of paintings show the Bogdo Gegen in frontal view in the center of the composition (Figs. 2-15, 22-25). In figs. 16 and 21, he is placed slightly sideward and in fig. 16 he is represented in a three-quarter profile. In some portraits the Bogdo Gegen is accompanied by two monk figures which are depicted at a much smaller scale and in profile. They stand at the left and right side of the throne and present offerings such as white honor scarves, maṇḍalas, ritual vases or Tibetan texts (Figs. 8, 14, 22, 23). In fig. 16 only one monk stands on the left side of the throne. In a few portraits several side figures occur such as Buddhas – Vajradhāra (Fig. 13, 23), Amitābha (Fig. 16) –, meditational Buddha forms (Skt. iṣṭa-devatā; Tib. yi dam) – Kālacakra (Tib. dus kyi 'khor lo), Chakrasaṃvara (Tib. ’khor lo bde mchog) in union with his female partner Vajravarāhī (Tib. rdo rje phag mo) (Figs. 9, 23) –, protectors – Yama (Tib. gshin rje), Beg tse (Fig. 14), Dhala (Fig. 24) –, and Tibetan Buddhist teachers – Tsong kha pa (Fig. 23), Dalai and Panchen Lamas (Fig. 9, 14, 16). They can appear in the sky amidst clouds (Figs. 14, 16) or on the ground in front of the throne at the lower end of the painting (Figs. 14, 23). In fig. 9, they stand on lotus flowers growing behind the throne. In fig. 8, a small thangka with the depiction of Vajradhāra is fixed at the top of the throne. In fig. 9, the portrait of a Buddhist teacher is also integrated in the elaborate throne construction.


Fig. 23In most of the paintings the background consists of a plain, dark-blue sky filling the upper half or two thirds of the composition (Figs. 8-10, 14, 15, 16, 22-24). The white moon and the red sun are shining in it and the sky is often covered with pink, green, yellow, white, blue (Figs. 8, 10, 14, 15, 24) and rainbow-colored (Fig. 16) clouds. These can have the shape of Chinese lingzhi-mushrooms (Figs. 10, 14, 23, 24). In fig. 21, the background consists of a blue brocade drapery with a small red and yellow strip resembling the traditional embroidery of thangkas. The lower third of the composition is filled with a landscape of green conical-shaped hills with a dark green topping indicating plant growth and is applied in fine dots of the brush (Figs. 8, 14, 15, 23). Some portraits lack a background (Figs. 3, 5, 7, 12, 15, 25).

In all the portraits discussed, the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus sit on a pile of several rectangular multi-colored cushions ornamented with plants (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 13), geometrical (Figs. 8, 9, 16) or curly patterns (Figs. 4, 8, 10, 12) or with stylized Chinese clouds (Figs. 17, 22, 23). In the portraits of the Natural History Museum in Ulaanbaatar, the front of the cushions is left blank (Figs. 3, 7, 11, 14). In some representations a small banner (Fig. 16) with a double rdo rje and four swastika symbols is attached to the front of the cushions (Figs. 3, 7, 11, 14, 25). Behind the cushions, a simply or triply rounded (Fig. 25) backrest can be attached to the seat. It is covered with a fabric that can be unadorned (Figs. 5, 6, 10, 25) or decorated with lotus flowers (Figs. 2, 16), tendrils (Fig. 8), Chinese dragons (Fig. 9), clouds (Figs. 11, 21, 22), monochrome patterns (Fig. 13) or curls (Figs. 15, 23). Furthermore, the backrest can be framed by a white scarf. This simple seat is often integrated in a more complex, elaborate throne construction (Figs. 6, 8, 9, 10, 13, 15, 16, 22-24). It consists of a rectangular wooden pedestal and an ornate arch-like structure. The pedestal can be unornamented (Fig. 13) or embellished with tendrils (Fig. 8), metal fittings (Figs. 9, 23), jewels (Figs. 9, 16), garuḍa heads (Fig. 9), stylized lotus leaves (Fig. 10) or golden curls (Fig. 15). Sometimes, two white Tibetan lions are in its woodwork as supporting figures (Figs. 8, 9, 15, 22-25). The high panel is made of curved beams in red and gold (Figs. 8, 13, 15, 16, 23, 24) in the shape of tendrils. It can be adorned with colorful jewels (Figs. 16, 22-24). In fig. 9, the throne arch even consists of interwoven Chinese dragons. Usually, the panel ends in a triply rounded construction in the shape of a Chinese lingzhi-mushroom (Figs. 6, 8, 10, 13, 15, 16, 22-24). It can be crowned by a multi-facetted (Figs. 13, 22, 24) or a flaming jewel (Fig. 16). Sometimes, a kīrtimukha (Fig. 13), a thangka (Fig. 8) or another small portrait of a Buddhist representative (Fig. 9) can be integrated at the top of the construction. In addition, a rainbow-colored honor parasol can appear in the sky above the head of the Bogdo Gegen identifying him as a high Buddhist incarnation or as a living Buddha (Figs. 13, 21, 22).

In many of the paintings the entire throne is surrounded by bushes or trees with pastel-colored flower buds (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 22, 23), big blossoms (Figs. 13, 22, 23, 24) or fruits (Fig. 9). The leaves have a jagged shape (Figs. 8, 22, 23, 24) and are often painted in two different green shades (Fig. 8) or even in green and blue (Fig. 9). In some paintings the stems of the flowers have a thorn-like covering (Figs. 8, 14).

In the majority of portraits small side tables stand in front of the thrones (Figs. 2, 4, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15, 21-23). Most of them are painted in a Chinese style with curved woodwork colored in red and gold (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 22). In figs. 21 and 22, the side table is carved in a refined geometrical pattern in Mongolian style. In some representations, the tables are covered with a colorful table cloth that is ornamented with golden patterns (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 23, 24).

On the side tables, different sets of offerings, ritual items and commodities are placed. Among the offerings are for example jewels (Figs. 2, 9, 10, 13, 14), a bowl of fruits (Figs. 8, 14, 24), a white conch with saffron fluid (Figs. 8, 14), incense vessels (Fig. 13), maṇḍalas (Figs. 12, 22, 23, 24) and lamps (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, 15). Besides that, more complex sets of offerings such as the eight auspicious things (Skt. aṣṭamaṅgaladravya; Tib. bkra shis rdzas brgyad), the eight auspicious symbols (Skt. aṣṭamaṅgala; Tib. bkra shis rtags brgyad), the seven possessions of a cakra-vartin (Skt. saptaratna, Tib. rgyal srid rin chen sna bdun) and the five objects of sensual pleasures (Skt. pañcakāmaguṅa, Tib. ‘dod yon lnga) can be depicted amidst clouds (Fig. 9) or be heaped up in a bowl (Fig. 13).

Ritual implements are for instance ritual vases with a bunch of peacock feathers (Figs. 8, 12, 21, 22, 24), a bell (Figs. 6, 9, 13, 21), a rdo rje (Fig. 13), a double drum (Figs. 9, 21, 22-24), or a golden dharma-wheel (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 9, 10, 12, 13, 22-24). Commodities include water flasks (Figs. 2, 4, 13, 22, 23) or tea vessels (Figs. 8, 13, 21, 22).

Generally speaking, four different styles are applied in the painted portraits of the Bogdo Gegens that were examined. Some of the details are specific for the Mongolian painting style and do not occur, for example, in Tibetan Buddhist paintings.


Fig. 24Some of the portraits (Figs. 3, 5, 7, 11, 15, 25) are simple line drawings. The set of black-and-white portraits (Figs. 2, 4, 6, 10, 12) shows a fluent and exact rendering of the garments and its folds as well as cloth patterns. The thangkas illustrated in color employ a fairly thick color application and striking colors (Figs. 8, 13, 14). Mostly, yellow shades predominate in the composition and form a strong contrast to the blue and green shades in the background (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 21, 22-24). As far as the reproduction of figures and details is concerned, some of the paintings show a certain kind of impreciseness, thus conveying a rather naïve impression. For example, the figures in fig. 15 have very big hands, partly very thin arms and highly schematized faces. In fig. 13, the face of the seventh Bogdo Gegen is painted asymmetrically, with one side of his face set lower than the other. On the contrary, some other representations are painted in an absolute precise and masterly manner (Figs. 9, 21, 22). The comparison of portraits has shown that more contemporary paintings use special techniques like the view from above (Fig. 9), a perspective reduction of the throne pedestals (Figs. 9, 13, 24), furniture (Fig. 21) or honor canopies (Fig. 21) or the staggered placement of figures (Figs. 9, 13, 16, 21, 23) and side tables (Figs. 21, 22) to achieve a higher degree of realism and three-dimensionality. In portraits of the eighth Bogdo Gegen his face (Figs. 21-25) and the surrounding objects like the clocks in fig. 21 are reproduced even in a photorealistic style. Besides that, omitting of typical traditional iconographic elements like the halo surrounding the head of the eighth Bogdo Gegen (Figs. 21, 25), the hat (Fig. 21), the rdo rje and the bell (Fig. 21, 25) or the backrest of the thrones (Figs. 7, 11, 15) is also a peculiarity of representations made in the twentieth century. Other than in the portraits of the first and second rJe btsun dampa Khutukhtu[98], no direct references to certain events of the third to the eighth Bogdo Gegen’s lives are made in the images presented here. Only the illustration of a clock in fig. 21 alludes to the eighth Bogdo Gegen’s particular collector’s passion.

A separate group of portraits are the appliqué thangkas (Fig. 16). These impress with their highly skillful combination of differently patterned fabrics and the versed outlining with black and golden threads. They are worked in a remarkably exact way.

Among the sculptures, the portrait statue of the seventh Bogdo Gegen (Fig. 17) convinces with an extraordinarily playful arrangement of folds and a lively facial expression.

Conclusions

Fig. 25Concerning the iconography of each of the rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus, a correlation seems to exist between the historical importance of a certain Bogdo Gegen and the number of iconographic and portrait types that have developed for his representation in the course of time. For example, the fourth Bogdo Gegen contributed greatly to the establishment of Buddhism in Mongolia while the seventh and eighth became better known for their eccentricity and excessive life-style. In this connection, also the life span of each Bogdo Gegen plays a major role. The sixth Bogdo Gegen died as a child at the age of six, the third and the seventh died as teenagers, and the fifth did not even turn 30. Whereas the fourth Bogod Gegen, who turned 38, and the eighth, who turned 54, simply had more time to develop activities. The eighth Bogdo Gegen lived in recent times. That is why his memory and the episodes of his life are still alive among the Khalka Mongols. He is also the first of the Bogdo Gegen – besides the ninth – of whom photographs exist. What is more, due to the political changes he united both the position of the highest secular and the highest spiritual leader of Outer Mongolia in his person.

However, most of the portraits that I have come across during my research show the fifth, the seventh and the eighth Bogdo Gegen, whereas only few portraits of the third, the fourth, and the sixth Bogdo Gegen exist.

What are the typical Mongolian style elements?
One distinctive feature is the golden curly (trendril) pattern applied in a quite loose and dynamic manner on clothes (Figs. 8, 12, 15, 23) and throne backrests (Figs. 8, 15, 23). Further key features include the plain dark-blue sky devoid of any graduations (Figs. 8, 9, 14, 24), the pastel-colored clouds in green, pink, light blue and rainbow-color which sometimes have the shape of Chinese longevity mushrooms (lingzhi) (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 23, 24), and the green, conical hills with a dark green plant cover (Figs. 8, 13, 15, 23) in the landscape. The leaves of the lotus plants have a jagged shape and are often colored in two different shades of green or blue (Figs. 8, 9, 10, 12, 15, 22-24). In some representations the lotus flowers have prickly stems (Figs. 8, 15). Another common element is the high curved throne construction with beams in the shape of tendrils (Figs. 4, 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 22-24) and a top panel showing the design of a Chinese lingzhi-mushroom (Figs. 6, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 22-24). Smaller images of Buddhas (Fig. 8), Buddhist teachers (Fig. 9) or kīrtimukha (Fig. 13) can be incorporated. Furthermore, the employment of striking, high-contrast colors (Figs. 8, 9, 13, 15, 16, 23, 24) and a rather thick color application is customary (Figs. 8, 13, 15). Further details can be seen in the Mongolian style of the garments (Figs. 8, 10-20, 25), the headgear (Figs. 5, 8, 10, 13-20, 22, 25) and the boots (Figs. 8, 15, 16, 19, 20, 22), the presence of Mongolian Buddhist protectors such as Beg tse, Dhala, Yama (Figs. 13, 22) and the wavy, pointed and often brown-colored flames (Figs. 14, 23) surrounding them (Figs. 22).

The frequency and the refinement of appliqué thangkas (figs. 16, 24) are unparalleled in Mongolian Buddhist art.



Footnotes

1.  Elisabeth Haderer, “The Sacred and the Profane – On the Representation of the first and second rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus in Mongolian Buddhist Art: Part 1,” Asianart.com (Santa Fe, 2012), https://www.asianart.com/articles/haderer/haderer.pdf.

2. Siegbert Hummel, “Die lamaistischen Malereien und Bilddrucke des Linden-Museums,” in Tribus: Veröffentlichungen des Linden-Museums 16, ed. Linden-Museum Gesellschaft für Erd- und Völkerkunde Stuttgart e. V. (Schorndorf bei Stuttgart: Druckerei und Verlag Karl Hoffmann, 1967): 44; Veronika Ronge, “Porträtdarstellungen der Tibetischen Könige zur Chos rgyal Zeit (8. - 9. Jh.),” in Das Bildnis in der Kunst des Orients, ed. Martin Kraatz (Stuttgart: Steiner, 1990), 22.

3. Aleksei M. Podzneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, ed. John R. Krueger (Bloomington: Uralic and Altaic Series, 1971), 386.

4. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 386.

5. Haderer, “The Sacred and the Profane: Part 1.”

6. Charles Bawden, “The Jebtsundampa Khutukhtus of Urga,” Asiatische Forschungen 9 (1961).

7. Uranchimeg Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree: A Nomadic Monastery and the Later Buddhist Art of Mongolia,” (PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 2009),  81, 82, 83, 9192, 101, 102.

8. Anonymus, Jibzundamba blama töröl üyes giged oron datsang baiygulugsan temdeglel [Notes on Lineage of Jibzundamba and about establishing Temples]), MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

9. [Galbarvas Story of Jebtsundambaluvsantsultemjigmeddambiijantsanbalsambuu], MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

10. Tabuduγar Boγda-yin namtar orśibai [Hagiography of the Fifth Bogd], MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

11. [Concerning the Seventh Jebtsundamba’s Birthday and granting Ranks and Titles to the Preceptor lkhaaramba Navaan-Osor, Tibetan Khanchin Tsorj Baldanchoimbol (mkhan chen chos rje dpal ldan chos spel), and the Father Myagmar], MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

12. [Concerning the Enthronement of the Seventh Jebtsundamba], MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

13. [Jebtsundamba’s Reincarnation Lists and Notes on Construction of datsans], MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

14. [The Secret History of the Enthronement of the Jebtsundamba Khutukhtu], MS, National Library of Mongolia, n. y.

15. G. Ts. Tsybikov, Buddhist Palomnik u Svjatin Tibeta (Petrograd, 1919).

16. N. Tsultem, Development of the Mongolian National Style Painting Mongol Zurag in Brief (Ulaanbaatar: State Publishing House, 1986).

17. G. M. Bongrad-Lewina, ed., Ikonographija Vadschrajani (Moscow: Ars Buddhica, 2003).

18. Hummel, “Die lamaistischen Malereien und Bilddrucke des Linden-Museums.”; Siegbert Hummel, “Die lamaistischen Kultplastiken im Linden-Museum: I. Die lamaistischen Bronzen, II. Die lamaistischen Plastiken aus Ton, Papiermaché und Holz,” in Tribus: Veröffentlichungen des Linden-Museums 11, ed. Linden-Museum Gesellschaft für Erd- und Völkerkunde Stuttgart e. V. (Schorndorf bei Stuttgart: Druckerei und Verlag Karl Hoffmann, 1962): 15-69.

19. Albert Grünwedel, Mythologie des Buddhismus in Tibet und der Mongolei: Führer durch die lamaistische Sammlung des Fürsten E. Uchtomskij (Osnabrück: Zeller, 1970).

20. Elisabeth Haderer, “Buddhistische Thangkamalerei in der Mongolei: Einige Rollbilder der Sammlung Leder” (Master Thesis, University of Graz, 2003).

21. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 368-370.

22. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 368-370.

23. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 350.

24. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 352.

25. Pozdneyev does not mention any details about the portrait, if it still exists and where it is kept.

26. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 354.

27. See A. B. Griswold, “Prolegomena to the Study of the Buddha’s Dress in Chinese Sculpture,” Artibus Asiae 26 (1963), 85-131.

28. The ring or index finger and the thumb do not touch here as is usually the case with this hand gesture.

29. See Robert Beer, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs (Boston: Shambhala, 1999), 221.

30. Pozdneyev does not give details. (See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 355)

31. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 355.

32. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 355.

33. Tuberculosis that spread very fast.

34.  See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 355-357.

35. The gesture might be understood as a reference to the bodhisattva of compassion and love Avalokiteśvara (Tib. sPyan ras gzigs) who embraces a wish-fulfilling jewel (Skt. cintāmaṇi; Tib. yid bzhin nor bu) with both hands to the front of his heart.

36. This may be due to the old reproduction of the picture or the condition of the painting itself.

37. Pozdneyev assumes that the rdo rje fixed at the hat of the Bogdo Gegen was probably a sign of the Tushetu Khans, the rulers of the Khalka Mongols. It was presented to Abatai Khan (1554-1588) by the third Dalai Lama bSod nams rgya mtsho (1543-1588). Later, the first rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Zanabazar (1635-1723) used the rdo rje as a sign to legitimate himself as a direct heir of the Tushetu Khan Gombodorz (reigned 1594-1655). He issued that all future rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtus should carry it as a symbol of the beneficial activity of the Tushetu Khans for the development of Buddhism in Mongolia. (See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 383)

38. The monk staff could be interpreted as a symbol of Buddha Śākyamuni, while the khaṭvāṅga is an attribute of Padmasambhava (Tib. Guru Rinpoche) (8th/ 9th century), who introduced the tantric teachings in Tibet and who is regarded as a second Buddha by the Tibetans.

39. Pozdbeyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 357.

40. Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 83.; The author refers to several sources that mention and document this trip, for instance Luvsanperleenamjil, Tabuduγar Boγda-yin namtar orśibai. (Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 109)

41. According to Tsultem and Berger, there also exist hagiographies of the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu in Tibetan, his own prolific writings like for instance Blo bzang tshul khrims 'jigs med bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan et al., “rJe btsun dam pa sku phreng lnga pa blo bzang tshul khrims 'jigs med bstan pa'i rgyal mtshan gyi gsung thor bu phyogs gcig tu sdebs pa,” in Khal kha rje btsun dam pa sku phreng rim byon gyi gsung 'bum, ed. R. Byambaa, volume 3 of 4 volumes, TBRC W2DB25419 (Ulaanbaatar, 2004): 1-176, and meditation instructions such as a Guru Yoga (Tib. bla ma lha'i rnal 'byor) practice on him (Blo bzang rta mgrin, “sKyabs mgon rje btsun dam pa sku 'phreng lnga pa la brten pa'i bla ma lha'i rnal 'byor,” in Blo bzang rta mgrin, gSung 'bum, ed. Mongolian Lama Gurudeva (New Delhi, 1975-1976), TBRC W13536, 3ff (55-60) that Pozdneyev did not know.

42. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 357, 358.

43. See Anonymous, Jebtsundambaluvsantsultemjigmeddambiijantsanbalsambuugiin tsadig tuuh Galbarvas modon.

44. Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 80.

45. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 360.

46. He died from syphilis.

47. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 361.

48. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the ‘Ghost mushroom’ or the ‘Mushroom of immortality’ is known as the ‘king of the medical plants.’ It is a remedy to strengthen the immune system and the liver. It is also used for increasing metabolism (See RR Paterson, “Ganoderma: A therapeutic fungal Biofactory,” Phytochemistry 67 (2006): 1985-2001, doi: 10.1002/chin.200650268.). Therefore, it is one of the “six types of long life” (Tib. tshe ring drug skor) in Chinese, Tibetan and Mongolian Buddhist art. (See Beer, Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, 95-99)

49. The figures refer to classical representations of the historical Buddha Śākyamuni (Tib. sangs rgyas sha kya thub pa) (ca. 560–478 B.C.) accompanied by his students Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana.

50. See Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 82.

51. The Fine Arts Museum in Ulaanbaatar owns a portrait of the first rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Zanabazar by the same artist. (See Tsultem, Development of the Mongolian National Style Painting, figs. 108, 109, 110); I analyzed this portrait in the first part of this publication. (See Haderer, “The Sacred and the Profane: Part 1.”) It shows the same composition layout, pictorial elements, details and painting style. It would be interesting to know, if there exists a whole set of paintings portraying all Bogdo Gegens.

52. Unfortunately, the resolution of the picture is too low to be able to read the Tibetan inscription at the beam. According to Tsultem,  “Ikh Khüree,” 80) the inscription reads: Blo gros bzan po yon tan kun gyi gter/ Rnam dag tshul khrims gtsang ma‘i rab brgyan ‘dis/ Gzhan don grub la ‘jigs med snying rje can/ Bstan pa‘i gyal mtshan ‘dzin la gsol ba ‘debs: “Good intelligence [blo gros bzan po], treasury of all good qualities/ With supreme adornment of pure and clean morality [tshul khrims]/ You who are fearless [‘jigs med] and compassionate in accomplishing the welfare of others/ May you grasp the victory banner of the teachings [bstan pa‘i rgyal mtshan].” As Tsultem points out, the fifth rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu’s personal name Blo bzang tshul khrims ‘jigs med bstan pa‘i rgyal tshan “is artfully embedded in the verse, covertly hinting at the reincarnation’s presence, and yet acknowledging the religious connotations of the name as standing for the ruler’s preeminent qualities … .”

53. The bowl might designate him as a rightful heir of Buddha Śākyamuni and the basket and text might be understood as a symbol for his knowledge of the Indian and Tibetan Buddhist scriptures.

54. The figure might be one of the teachers of the fifth Bogdo Gegen, most probably the seventh Panchen Lama bsTan pa'i nyi ma (1781-1852) (Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 81, proposes the fourth Panchen Lama bLo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan (1570-1662) (?), but does not give details explaining her assumption) or one of the Dalai Lamas. For example, the ninth Dalai Lama Lung ston rgya mtsho (1806-1815) is generally depicted with the same gestures and attributes. (See Martin Brauen, ed., Die Dalai Lamas: Tibets Reinkarnationen des Bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara (Zürich: Arnoldsche, 2005), 128)

55. See Paola Mortari Vergara Caffarelli, “International dGelugs-pa Style of Architecture from the 16th – 19th Century,” Journal of the Tibet Society 21, no. 2 (Summer 1996): 53-89.

56. See Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 82.

57. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 361.

58. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 361.

59. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 362.

60. Anonymous, Doluduγar düri-yin següder jergečegsen ba baγsi lharamba Aγvang odser, tübed gačin čorji Baldanγombu nar-tu čola, ečige Miγmar-tu jingse otuγ-a zerge sangnaγsan tuqai. (Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 110)

61. See Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 88.

62. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 363.

63. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 363.

64. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 363, 364.

65. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 364.

66. It is a symbol of protection and honor. (See Beer, Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, 69, 70)

67.  Due to its posture and clothing (e. g. elephant and tiger skins) this could be a meditational form (Tib. yi dam) of Yama depicted here.

68. Tsultem interprets the vase containing the nectar of immortality, the attribute of Amitāyus, the bodhisattva of Infinite Life, as a symbol for the long life of the seventh rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu, who, nevertheless, died at an early age. (See Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 88, 89)

69. This iconographic type corresponds with the portrait of the seventh Bogdo Gegen in the National History Museum in Ulaanbaatar. (Fig. 16)

70. It could be the seventh Pan chen bla ma bsTan pa'i nyi ma (1781-1852), who is generally depicted with the same iconographic features. Whereas, Uranchimeg Tsultem and Patricia Berger suggest that the figure is a portrait of Tsongkhapa. (Tsultem and Berger, Written commentary, July 19, 2016).

71. Hummel assumes that both sculptures originate from the Tibetan-Chinese-Mongolian border regions and date back at least to the 16th/ 17th century, but most probably they were created at a much later period. (See Hummel, “Die lamaistischen Kultplastiken im Linden-Museum,” 45, 60)

72. The color has vanished in fig. 19.

73. Patricia Berger and Terese Tse Bartholomew, Mongolia: The Legacy of Chinggis Khan (San Francisco: Thames & Hudson, 1995), 71.

74. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 365.

75. Pozdneyev does not mention which sort of crime. (See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 367)

76. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 367.

77. See Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 383.

78. See Berger and Bartholomew, Mongolia: The Legacy of Chinggis Khan, 71.

79. See Olaf Czaja, “The Eye-healing Avalokiteshvara: History, Art and Medicine,” (paper presented at the IATS XIII conference, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, July 21-27, 2013).

80. See Berger and Bartholomew, Mongolia: The Legacy of Chinggis Khan, 71, 72.

81. Urgunge Onon and Derrick Pritchatt, Asia’s first modern revolution: Mongolia proclaims its independence in 1911 (Leiden: Brill, 1989).

82. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 368.

83. Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 100.

84. Marzan was his nickname and means “jester.” (See “Balduugiin Sharav,” Free Dictionary, accessed November 12, 2016, http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Balduugiin+Sharav.)

85. According to Tsultem, “the artist clearly follows the photographic tradition in China that places the sitter with a Chinese teacup and a clock – a clear imperial index as they point to both Qianlong Emperor’s and also Bogdo Gegeen’s noted passion.” (Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 100.)

86. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 368.

87. Pozdneyev, Mongolia and the Mongols, 368.

88. These attributes refer to the bodhisattva Vajrasattva (Tib. rDo rje sems pa) and are characteristic for the representation of the first rJe btsun dam pa Khutukhtu Zanabazar. (See Haderer, “The Sacred and the Profane: Part 1.”; Tsultem, “Ikh Khüree,” 76, 77)

89. In a portrait of the sixth Panchen Lama dPal ldan ye shes (1738-1780) that was made in ca. 1780 at the Qing court, the Panchen Lama wears a similar hat. (See Patricia Berger, “Lineages of Form: Buddhist Portraiture in the Manchu Court,” The Tibet Journal 27, no. 1-2 (2002): 141)

90. See Hummel, “Die lamaistischen Malereien und Bilddrucke des Linden-Museums,” 43, 44.

91. The representation appears to be a reproduction of a portrait by the painter Sharav. (See Tsultem, Development of the Mongolian National Style Painting, fig. 176)

92. See Tsultem, Development of the Mongolian National Style Painting, fig. 92.

93. The sitting position is not visible due to the robes concealing the legs of the Bogdo Gegens.

94. The touching fingers symbolize the act of teaching or the combination of wisdom and method, while the remaining three fingers signify the Three Jewels (Skt. triratna; Tib. dkon chog gsum) of Buddhist refuge, Buddha, dharma and saṅgha. (See Robert Beer, Die Symbole des Tibetischen Buddhismus (München: Diederichs, 2003), 312, 313)

95. The vase is an attribute of Amitāyus, the bodhisattva of infinite life (Tib. tshe dpag med). It is filled to its top with saffron water and contains a wish-fulfilling tree that embodies the essence of Amitābha or his syllable Hrih. Another variation of the tree is a leaf cluster of a mango tree bearing three mango fruits. Fresh fruits and twigs with leaves are symbols of abundance and longevity. (See Beer, Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols, 221)

96. In some portraits published in the book by Tsybikov (Figs. 4, 6, 11, 13) the mouth seems even to be missing or the color has vanished in the course of time.

97. See Griswold, “Prolegomena to the Study of the Buddha’s Dress,” 92, 93.

98. See Haderer, “The Sacred and the Profane: Part 1.”