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TIBETAN THANGKAS

Buddhist Paintings from the 17th to the 19th Century

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TIBETAN THANGKAS Buddhist Paintings from the 17th to the 19th Century

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Looking at various collections of art is always interesting, because most often they include random objects artificially grouped by happenstance or by the subjective eye of a collector. With Himalayan-style art, and easier with painting than sculpture, a useful first response is to try and make sense of the images at hand visually. Ask the question, ‘Do the paintings appear to be related to each other or unrelated?’ Through this type of mental and visual sorting, paintings can be quickly organised into groups for analysis.

Paintings generally fall into three main subject types: figurative, narrative and diagrammatic. Figurative works are fairly self-explanatory, with only eleven main figurative forms found in Himalayan art. Narrative ones depict a continuous story or series of stories in an often, or maybe always, congested composition. Diagrammatic paintings are more usually than not mandala in design, or charts, which are generally, but not always, geometric and organised.

The paintings on view in this presentation at Rossi & Rossi are all figurative, and thus follow a number of the eleven eponymous forms, but not all. These eleven forms, or appearances, are based on orthodox Buddhist norms and also incorporate terminology used in the Tibetan painting tradition by the artists themselves, a combination of two systems, but only the visually useful parts. The eleven appearances are: the Buddha, elder (arhat), king, monastic, layperson, siddha, peaceful deity, semi-peaceful/semi-wrathful deity, wrathful deity, animal-featured deity and warrior. These eleven figures are defined by, and relate to, appearance only, and are not grouped by an abstract function or religious hierarchy. The animal-featured category is a new one created by the Himalayan Art Resources (HAR) staff.

The subjects of the paintings in the present exhibition, divided by appearance, are: elders (four works), the king (two works), the peaceful deity (four works), the semi-peaceful deity (one work), the wrathful deity (one work) and the animal-featured deity (two works). Knowing the general classification of the subject greatly helps to determine the specific identity of the central figure of a composition. Once the identity of the central figure has been established, then one can quickly determine if the composition belongs to a set of paintings, or if it is a single work.

Half or more of all Himalayan art is created in sets. Commonly found subjects that are created in sets of paintings, and what comprises a set, are determined by a general Tibetan Buddhist convention that was established over time. In such groups of paintings, there are always four elders who belong to an established set of twenty-five figures. This set includes the Shakyamuni Buddha, the two foremost disciples, the Sixteen Great Elders, a patron and an attendant, along with the Four Direction Kings (Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka). All twenty-five figures can be painted in a single composition, or divided into three, five, seven or more paintings. In the case of the paintings of elders in this collection, there are four compositions depicting single elders, which, according to convention, means that they each belong to a set of paintings with a total of twenty-three compositions. Why not twenty-five? The two foremost disciples are always depicted standing to the right and left of the Shakyamuni Buddha, thus making twenty-three compositions in total, when each figure is given its own composition. Two of the works in this exhibition, showing Bakula (p. 11) and Nagasena (p. 15) with gold-painted bodies, belong to the same set. There is another depiction of Nagasena (p. 23) and one of Vanavasin (p. 19), and both belong to two different sets of twenty-three compositions.

There are two paintings on view with figures in king appearance. Kings have two main categories: the first is the set of the Four Direction Kings, who are always depicted with the Sixteen Great Elders; the second type includes all others, which easily can be divided and listed, although nuanced, and are almost always included in sets. The two kings in this group

PREFACE

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of paintings are Konchog Bang (p. 27), who is regarded as a previous rebirth of the Dalai Lamas from a famous set of thirteen paintings, and King Ralpachen (p. 31), a first millennium CE ruler of Tibet. Ralpachen is likely to be part of a painting set comprising three or more works and depicting the most important of the Tibetan kings.

In peaceful deity appearance are Manjushri (p. 35) and Vajrapani (p. 39), who are painted in an East Tibetan style. They could very well belong to the same set depicting the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, with a central image of either the Shakyamuni Buddha or the Amitabha Buddha. This is a standard set of nine compositions. Another Vajrapani (p. 43) painting follows more of an imperial or seventeenth- or eighteenth-century Beijing style of art, based on the ‘new Menri’ painting tradition of Central Tibet popularised during the seventeenth century, which is characterised by a tripartite division of the composition and features an overall blue-green palette. This Vajrapani also likely belongs to a nine-painting set.

Up until now, the compositions discussed above have all belonged to larger painting sets. What follows are five compositions that are singles – paintings created for a more personal spiritual or devotional use. The first is in peaceful appearance, Red Tara (p. 47), a product of East Tibet, with the minimalist style of artwork associated with Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne and the great Palpung Monastery founded in the eighteenth century. The next painting is in semi-peaceful/semi-wrathful appearance, Hevajra (p. 51), blue in colour, a complex deity with multiple faces and arms. An example of a wrathful deity is Mahakala (p. 55), black, with one face and four arms surrounded by numerous dishevelled figures. The remaining two paintings are of the same basic subject, Vajrabhairava (p. 59, p. 63), an animal-featured deity with a central buffalo head, nine faces in total, thirty-four arms and sixteen legs, painted against a black background. There are four background colours in Tibetan art: multicoloured, black, gold and red. Two of the colours are textually prescribed and two are the product of later artistic conventions. The black background is traditionally reserved for semi-wrathful and wrathful deities.

An artist’s intention when creating sets of paintings can be very different from when creating a single composition. There is also a much bigger expense and time commitment for the production of a painting set, which requires a master artist and many students. With the present group of fourteen paintings, nine belong to sets, which in total, with all the compositions in each set included and calculated, would have numbered more than 111 compositions. So, it is interesting, when first looking at a collection of paintings, to look closer, because it might just be the ‘tip of the iceberg’, so to speak. More often than not, what appears at first to be few in number actually represents a much greater whole, with deeper significance and more important context.

Jeff Watt, Beijing, 30 June 2018

One of the leading scholars of Himalayan art, Jeff Watt acquired his prodigious knowledge of Buddhist, Bon and Hindu iconography from a longtime study of Buddhism and Tantra. As a teenager, he studied with Dezhung Rinpoche, in Seattle, Washington, and Sakya Trizin, in Dehradun, India, before dropping out of school at age seventeen to take monastic vows from the 16th Gyalwa Karmapa. For the next eleven years, Watt trained intensively in India, Canada and the United States, with teachers including Dudjom Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Kalu Rinpoche and Sakya Jetsun Chimey. In 1985, he gave back his monastic ordinations, but continued to study and to translate sacred Tibetan and Sanskrit texts; he also completed numerous traditional retreats over years of periodic isolated practice, much of it in the rugged mountains of British Columbia, Canada.

He is the Director and Chief Curator of Himalayan Art Resources (HAR), a website and ‘virtual museum’ featuring upwards of 100,000 images with detailed descriptions, making it the most comprehensive resource for Himalayan-‘style’ art and iconography in the world. He has worked on HAR since April 1998, at which time there were 625 images in total (Tibetan paintings only).

By 1 May 2015, under Watt’s leadership, HAR had established itself as a not-for-profit 501(c) (3) registered corporation, Himalayan Art Resources Inc., in the US state of Delaware. From the beginning, HAR was a project made possible by the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation. From 1997 until 30 April 2015, HAR was solely funded by the Rubin Foundation. On 1 May 2015, the new corporation and its Board of Directors assumed full responsibility of HAR, with Watt remaining as the Director and Chief Curator.

Watt was also the founding curator and leading scholar at the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA) in New York City, from October 1999 until October 2007. The RMA houses one of the largest collections of Himalayan and Tibetan art in North America; it is currently also the best catalogued. The HAR website has been the primary curatorial tool for cataloguing and mounting all Himalayan exhibitions at the RMA.

During his tenure as senior curator at the RMA, he built the collection from a personal, founder-driven assemblage into world-class museum holdings, with some of the finest examples of Himalayan art in the world. In 2005, the Jourdan-Barry Collection was the single largest purchase, with more than seventy-two works of sculpture, many of which are on permanent display at the RMA.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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閱覽不同的藝術收藏總是件饒有趣味的事情，因為很多收藏不是偶然所得，就是藏家按照自己主觀品味隨機組合而成。對於喜馬拉雅藝術來說，尤其是唐卡，首先要嘗試去理解這些視覺圖像的涵義。問問自己“這些畫像是否彼此有關聯？”。通過這一認知和視覺分類，可以將唐卡先粗略分組以便於進一步研究分析。

唐卡一般分三類：人物，敘事和圖解。人物圖不言自明，在喜馬拉雅藝術中目前已知的只有十一種類別。敘事圖通常用以描繪某一系列或是某一個連續的故事，構圖多顯擁擠。圖解類大多數畫的是壇城佛塔，多呈幾何狀。

Rossi & Rossi今次呈現的畫作全部屬於人物圖，大都遵循了這一範疇內的十一種類別。這些類別或可以說即遵循了正統佛教規範，也涵蓋了畫師在西藏繪畫中的約定俗成。可以說是通過兩者的結合，取其視覺上可用的元素。十一種具象分別為：佛祖，尊者（羅漢），法王，僧侶，凡人，悉達，寂靜相神祇，半寂靜相／半憤怒相神祇，怒神像，神獸像，和護法神。這一分類是按照畫中人物的表現形象予以劃分的，與宗教等級或抽象功能無關。神獸像是喜馬拉雅藝術資源網（Himalayan Art Resources (HAR)）的研究人員創建的新類別。

以具象區分，本書中的唐卡涵蓋了：尊者（四幅），法王（兩幅），寂靜相神祇（四幅），半寂靜相神祇（一幅），怒神像（一幅）和神獸像（兩幅）。了解主題的一般分類有助於職別一幅畫中中心人物的身份。一旦知曉了中心人物的身份，便可以確定某一幅圖是屬於某一組繪畫，還是單件作品。

喜馬拉雅藝術中一半以上的繪畫都是成套繪製的。一套繪畫中通常都有哪些主題人物，有哪些畫組成一套，這些都是由歷史發展過程中逐漸確立起來的藏傳佛教傳統而決定的。在這些成套的組圖中，一般會出現四位尊者，他們屬於一套共二十五位人物的繪畫，其中包括佛祖釋迦摩尼，其兩位上首弟子，十六羅漢，供養人和侍從，四大天王（多聞天王，持國天王，增長天王和廣目天王）。這二十五位人物即可以單獨成畫，也可以分散成三、五、七，甚至更多幅畫以成一組。本書中收錄的唐卡，以尊者為主題的共四幅，每幅描繪的都是單一人物。依照傳統，這表明這些單張屬於某一套二十三幅的組圖。為什麼不是二十五幅？因為釋迦摩尼的兩位上首弟子通常一同出現在佛祖的左右兩側，其他人物和神像則單獨成畫，所以一套組圖從數量上來算共二十三幅。本書中的巴古拉尊者（p.11）和那迦犀尊者（p.15）的身體皆以金色繪製，屬於同一套組圖。另有一幅那迦犀尊者圖（p.23），一幅伐那斯婆尊者圖（p.19），分別歸屬於兩套不同的組圖。

另外有兩幅法王圖。法王主要有兩大類別：一類是四大天王，常和十六羅漢一起出現；一類則包括了除此之外的其他法王，易於辨識，差異微妙。本書中的兩位法王分別是貢秋幫（p.27），達賴喇嘛的前世，來自一套著名的十三幅組圖；和赤祖德贊（p.31），西藏公元一世紀的統治者。這張赤祖德贊很有可能來自一套三張或以上的組圖，刻畫了西藏歷史上最重要的數位藏王。

呈慈悲像的文殊菩薩（p.35）和金剛手菩薩（p.39）皆以西藏東部風格繪製。兩者很可能屬於同一套描繪八大菩薩的的畫，其中心人物是釋迦摩尼或阿彌陀佛。這樣一套畫應共有九張。另一張金剛手菩薩（p.43）更多地遵循了宮廷畫派或是17-18世紀的北京風格唐卡。這一風格基於17世紀盛行於西藏中部的“新梅日”繪畫傳統，其特徵是構圖上採用三分法，畫面整體色調偏藍綠色。這一張金剛手菩薩圖應來源於一套九幅的組圖。

至此，以上提及的數件作品都分別來自於某一套圖。而以下的五張皆是單幅畫作──為個人禮佛而創作的。其中，第一張為紅度母（p.47），慈悲像，來源於西藏東部，簡潔清爽的構圖是司徒班欽·卻吉迥乃和十八世紀八邦寺畫風的典型代表。第二張為喜金剛（p.51），半怒半慈悲像，身藍色，多面多臂。另外一幅呈怒相的唐卡是大黑天（p.55），身黑色，一面四臂，四周圍有多位人物像。餘下的兩張唐卡畫有同一主題，即大威德金剛（p.59，p.63），中心的大威德為牛頭神像，九面三十四臂，十六足，畫面背景呈黑色。在藏傳藝術中，畫面的背景色調主要有四種：多彩、黑、金、和紅色。其中的兩種色調是由經書中的相關描述所確立的，另外兩種則是後來畫師逐漸建立起來的傳統。黑唐卡多用於繪製半怒或憤怒的神像。

前言

是繪製成一套，還是單幅作品，畫師的不同選擇體現出來的用意是有所區別的。繪製套圖更花費精力和金錢，通常會有一位大師帶著一眾弟子一起做。本書中的十四張唐卡中九張分別來自不同組圖，如果把每件作品所歸屬的每一組圖的總數也計算進去，則共有111張。所以說去看一組收藏十分有趣，因為當你細緻地觀察，會發現眼前所見的可以說只是“冰山一角”：所見的寥寥幾幅實則代表了更龐大的一個群體，有著更深厚的涵義和淵源。

傑夫·瓦特, 北京，2018年6月30日

傑夫·瓦特是喜馬拉雅藝術領域的傑出學者。他經過對佛教和密教長期的鑽研，在佛教、苯教和印度教的繪畫與圖解方面積累了深厚的

專業知識。傑夫·瓦特青年時期曾師從德松仁波切（西雅圖，華盛頓州）和薩迦法王（德拉頓，印度），17歲時退學進而接受第十六世嘉華

噶玛巴的受禮為僧。在其後的十一年間，瓦特在印度、加拿大和美國師從於多位仁波切，如敦珠仁波切，頂果欽哲仁波切，至尊卡盧仁

波切，和薩迦傑尊瑪仁波切。1985年，瓦特還俗，但任繼續學習並翻譯藏文和梵文經書。他多年來，時常退居到加拿大哥倫比亞地區的深

山中，完成了多次傳統的靜修。

瓦特是喜馬拉雅藝術資源網（HAR）的總監和首席策展人，網站及其虛擬的線上博物館涵蓋了100,000多張圖像及其詳細的圖解描述，

是當今世界上喜馬拉雅風格藝術最為全面的資源庫。瓦特從1998年4月開始著力於HAR的工作，當時該資源網上僅有625幅圖像（且僅限

於西藏繪畫）。

2015年5月1日，在瓦特的領導下，HAR在美國特拉華州註冊，成為非盈利501 c3類的機構，全稱為Himalayan Art Resources Inc.。

HAR最初是由雪莉和唐納德·魯賓基金會創建的項目。從1997年至2015年4月30日，HAR完全由魯賓基金會資助運營。從2015年5月1日

開始，全新的機構和董事會對HAR全權負責，瓦特則繼續留任總監和首席策展人。

1999年10月至2007年10月，瓦特擔任了紐約魯賓美術館（RMA）的創始策展人和首席學者。魯賓美術館擁有北美最大的喜馬拉雅和西藏

藝術收藏之一，且收藏紀錄極為詳盡。而HAR網站則是魯賓美術館用於策劃和收錄其所有的喜馬拉雅藝術展覽的主要策展工具。

在瓦特擔任資深策展人期間，將魯賓美術館的收藏從一個創始人的私人珍藏開始、擴展成了世界一流的收藏體系，包含了眾多可以與

世界上頂級博物館相媲美的喜馬拉雅藝術珍品。Jourdan-Barry系列珍藏是其最大的一次收購（2005年），有超過72件雕塑，其中很多

都在魯賓美術館中永久展出。

關於作者

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1Arhat BakulaDistemper on clothTibet18th century 92 x 60 cm (36 x 24 in)

Himalayan Art Resource No. 36293

ProvenanceKoller Auktionen (2 June 2015, Lot 170)Private European Collection, acquired from Galerie Koller (Zurich, 1980s)

Front of the PaintingArya Sthavira Bakula Namo! (Homage to the Noble Elder Bakula!)

Reverse of the PaintingSanctification mantras: Om sarva vidya svaha! Om vajra ayushe svaha!

Bakula the Elder (Sanskrit: Sthavira Bakula), the 9th elder from the set of Sixteen Great Elders, who are regarded as the principal students of the Shakyamuni Buddha; a name inscribed at the bottom of the composition identifies the main figure as Bakula

According to a Sakya liturgical text, ‘To the noble elder, the great Bakula of Northern Kuru, surrounded by a retinue of 900 arhats; to the feet of all those I bow’.

The Bakula Sutra (sutta), part of the Majjhima Nikaya collection of sutras composed between the 3rd century BCE and the 2nd century CE, recounts a generic narrative related to the elder named Bakula, which reveals that he lived as an ascetic, only embracing the Buddhist path later in life after meeting with the Tathagata Shakyamuni. He became ordained as a monk and then renowned for having deep faith, quickly attaining the level of an arhat. It is also understood that he chose to enter nirvana prior to the Buddha. This narrative, which is based on Pali scriptures, is therefore different from a later text that describes the cult of the Sixteen Great Elders.

The story of this group of elders is based on a text possibly dating to the fourth or fifth century CE titled The Arya Nanda Mitra Avadana Nama. In the later text, an elder named Bakula (Nakua, Vakula) remains on earth, promising to watch over humanity until the coming of the next Maitreya Buddha.

Bakula bestows special blessings, including basic material needs and requisites for anyone seeking to follow the path of the Buddha. He is most commonly portrayed holding a mongoose; however, there are several different and varying iconographic traditions depicting the arhats. The Sixteen Great Elders are almost always painted as a set. Typically, the full group includes the Shakyamuni Buddha with the two foremost disciples, the Sixteen Great Elders, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang and the Four Guardians of the Directions: Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka. In total, the set is composed of twenty-three paintings, but they depict twenty-five figures with the two disciples rendered in the same composition as the Shakyamuni Buddha.

In a red cartouche found at the bottom centre of the painting, there is a Sanskrit inscription written using Tibetan script that reads, Arya Sthavira Bakula Namo! (Homage to the Noble Elder Bakula!). On the reverse of the painting, there are two mantras of sanctification to bless the composition: Om sarva vidya svaha! Om vajra ayushe svaha!

Western art historians generally refer to this group of Sixteen Great Elders as ‘arhats’. However, the individuals are not actually arhats, but rather sthavira, which comprise a different, lower level of Buddhist hierarchy based on mental attainment in meditation. The nineteenth-century use of the Sanskrit word ‘arhat’ appears to be a simple error in translation and understanding on the part of early Western scholars. It is a mistake that is very hard to correct, since the word ‘arhat’ is now found universally in the English language throughout publications on Asian art history.

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喜馬拉雅藝術資源網36293號

來源科勒拍賣（2015年6月2日，拍品170）歐洲私人珍藏，購於科勒畫廊（蘇黎世，20世紀80年代）

畫面前部銘文的中文譯文: 向尊貴的巴古拉尊者致敬！銘文的威利藏文轉寫: Arya Sthavira Bakula Namo!

畫面背部銘文的威利藏文轉寫: Om sarva vidya svaha! Om vajra ayushe svaha!

巴古拉，尊者（梵文：Sthavira Bakula）為十六尊者中的第九位、釋迦摩尼十六位上首弟子之一。畫面底部的銘文注明了其中心人物為巴古拉尊者。

薩迦誦文中曾寫道，“尊聖長者巴沽拉，北俱盧洲長安住，九百羅漢為眷屬，眾尊足前我禮敬”。

巴古拉經文，屬於巴利文《中尼迦耶》佛經的一部分，成書於公元前2–3世紀。其中，提及巴古拉尊者晚年得到釋迦摩尼親口所授教法，隨入佛門，苦行修煉。受戒之後，誠心修行，很快證得羅漢果位。書中也提到巴古拉早於佛祖選擇了涅槃，這一以巴利文寫就的描述，與在此之後描述十六羅漢的文獻有所區別。十六羅漢圖的文本描述可以追溯到公元前四或五世紀的文獻《聖難陀仙人本生名》。在此之後的文獻中寫道，有位尊者，名巴古拉，承諾留在世間，守護眾生，直到下一位彌勒菩薩降臨。

巴古拉尊者賜予眾生之福，助信徒獲得最基本物質需求，一心向佛。在常見的巴古拉尊者像中，他通常手持寶鼬；但是羅漢圖有多種不同的傳統和風格。十六羅漢圖一般集成一套。典型的完整一套包括佛祖釋迦摩尼與其兩位弟子舍利弗和目犍連、十六羅漢、隨從的達摩多羅尊者、哈香尊者，以及四大天王──多聞天王、持國天王、增長天王和廣目天王。整套共二十三幅圖，共畫有二十五位人物肖像，其中釋迦摩尼的兩位弟子通常與佛祖同框出現。

本幅畫作底部的正中位置有一圈紅色象形繭，內用梵文寫有一句藏經，音譯“Arya Sthavira Bakula Namo!”。意為“向高貴的巴古拉尊者致意！”畫的背面有兩句真言以賜福予此畫：om sarva vidya svaha! om vajra ayushe svaha!

西方藝術史通常將這組十六尊者成為羅漢。其實他們並非羅漢，而是悉提那。他們在冥想中覺悟，在佛教等級中層級較低。從19世紀開始通用的梵文一詞“羅漢”應當是早期西方學者的錯誤翻譯和理解，如今已經很難去糾正這一錯誤，“羅漢”一詞已成為亞州藝術史在英語世界中的通用詞彙。

1羅漢巴古拉布面彩繪漢藏風格18世紀92 x 60 cm (36 x 24 in)

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2Arhat NagasenaDistemper on cloth Tibet18th century 91 x 60 cm (35 ¾ x 23 ½ in)


Front of the PaintingArya Sthavira Nagasena Namo! (Homage to the Noble Elder Nagasena!)

Nagasena the Elder (Tibetan: ne ten, lu’i de; Sanskrit: Sthavira Nagasena) from a set of Sixteen Great Elders and further belonging to a total painting set of twenty-three compositions with the Shakyamuni Buddha at the centre; all of the elders are male and belong to the Buddhist monastic system (sangha)

Nagasena can be recognised by the vase he clutches in his extended right hand as well as the upright khakkhara (monk’s staff) in his left. Wearing patchwork robes cut into strips of orange, red and blue, he sits in a relaxed pose, with his left leg extended against the background of a lush green and blue landscape. In the foreground, a seated monk holds a begging bowl in his lap; three flaming wish-fulfilling jewels are stacked at his side.

According to a Sakya liturgical verse, ‘On the King of Mountains, Vipulopa is the noble elder Nagasena, surrounded by 1,200 arhats; homage to the One holding a vase and a khakkhara’.

Many of the elders in this painting set are depicted off-centre from the central axis, which gives the viewer an idea of where this painting would have been located within the set – either to the right or to the left side of the central Shayamuni painting. In Himalayan-style art, the figures typically look inwards, towards the central subject. However, for balance (and to avoid excessive repetition), a few of the elders face forwards. The skill of the artist, as well as his training and the style to which he adheres, determines how the twenty-three paintings are ultimately composed.

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畫面的正面銘文 “向尊貴的那迦犀尊者致敬！”Arya Sthavira Bakula Namo!

本幅那迦犀尊者圖（藏文：ne ten, lu’i de; 梵文：Sthavira Nagasena）來自於一組十六羅漢圖，而這組圖進一步屬於一套總共二十三幅、以佛祖釋迦摩尼為中心的組圖；圖中所有的尊者均為男性形象，屬佛教寺院體系（僧寶）。

那迦犀尊者右手握花樽，左手持錫杖，身著橙、紅、藍相間的拼接僧袍。神態平和，左腿前伸，身後綠水青山。畫面的前景中，一位僧侶手捧化緣缽，三顆如意珠堆砌在其身邊。

根據一句薩迦誦文紀錄，“山之王，最尊貴的那迦犀尊者維普利巴，一千二百位羅漢為眷屬；持花樽與錫杖者我禮敬。”

該組唐卡中的尊者位置大都微微偏離畫面中心的正中軸線，以使觀者从構圖上可以感性地認知到尊者的位置──通常居於中心人物釋迦摩尼的左邊或右邊。在喜馬拉雅藝術風格中，人物的形象一般多描繪成內關，即眼神望向畫中心人物角色。然而，出於對畫面結構整體平衡性的考量（也為了避免過多的重複），在部分畫作中，也有尊者是看向前方的。畫師的技藝、他所接受的訓導、以及他恪守的藝術風格決定了一套二十三幅圖的最終構成。

2那迦犀尊者布面彩繪西藏18世紀91 x 60 cm (35 ¾ x 23 ½ in)

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3Arhat VanavasinDistemper on cottonTibet17th century101.5 x 59.5 cm (40 x 23 ½ in)


ProvenancePrivate Asian CollectionPrivate American Collection, 1970s

Vanavasin the Elder (Tibetan: pag pa ne ten, nag la ne; Sanskrit: Arya Sthavira Vanavasin), the 3rd arhat from a set of Sixteen Great Elders (sthavira/arhat)

According to a Sakya liturgical verse, ‘In the mountain cave of Seven-leaves is the noble elder Vanavasin, surrounded by 1,400 arhats; homage to the One with a pointing gesture and holding a fly whisk’.

In his usual iconographic form, Vanavasin points with his right hand while holding a fly whisk in his left. This depiction follows the Tibetan verse believed to be translated from the original Sanskrit, Praise to the Sixteen Arhats.

This composition would have been part of a twenty-three painting set. Typically, the full group would include the Shakyamuni Buddha, the two foremost students Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, the Sixteen Great Elders, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang and the Four Direction Kings: Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dhritarashtra and Virudhaka. There are twenty-five figures in the group, but only twenty-three paintings in the set. With painted compositions, the two foremost students are almost always depicted standing alongside Shakyamuni in a single scene.

The composition, layout and colour scheme of this work are based on a set of paintings commissioned originally by the Yongle Emperor in the early fifteenth century. Many copies of this famous set were created in later centuries, and even copied by other influential Buddhist emperors, such as Qianlong in the eighteenth century.

At the top centre is the female deity of longevity, the White Tara, ‘...with a hue white like an autumn moon – radiant like a stainless crystal jewel, shining with rays of light, one face, two hands, and having three eyes; with the conduct of having sixteen years of age. The right hand is in the mudra of supreme generosity; the left holds with the thumb and forefinger the stem of a white utpala (lotus) to the heart with the petals blossoming at the ear. Representing the Buddhas of the three times, the single stem is divided into three, in the middle is a blossoming flower, the right in fruition, the left in the form of a bud; adorned with various jewel ornaments; having various silk upper garments and a lower garment of red silk; seated with the legs in vajra posture. The palms of the hands and feet each have an eye – the seven eyes of pristine awareness’. (Sachen Ngagwang Kunga Lodro, 1729–1783; sGrub Thabs Kun bTus, vol. 1, fol. 65–73).

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來源亞洲私人珍藏美國私人珍藏，20世紀70年

伐那婆斯尊者（藏文：pag pa ne ten，梵文：Arya Sthavira Vanavasin）在十六羅漢中排名第三。

如薩迦誦文所述，“伐那婆斯尊者曾在七葉窟叢林之中精進禪修，眷屬一千四百阿羅漢。右手怒印執拂，左手持拂子。”

上文的引言來自《十六尊者禮讚文》，是由梵文翻譯成藏文。在描繪伐那婆斯尊者的畫中，大都可以看到他右手結期克印；左手持拂子。

這幅作品應來自一套共二十三幅的組圖。一般整套唐卡會包括釋迦牟尼佛，十大弟子中的兩位－舍利弗及目犍連，十六羅漢，達摩多羅尊者，哈香尊者和四大天王──多聞天王，持國天王，增長天王和廣目天王。二十三幅組圖中共有二十五位人物。大部分的畫像會把兩位弟子同釋迦牟尼佛並放在同一幅畫中。

這幅畫的構圖、佈局與配色方案引用一組十五世紀受永樂大帝委託的畫像作為啟發。這組畫經常被後代的畫家作為參考和模仿，甚至在十八世紀被乾隆皇帝所模仿。

在這幅畫的頂部是象徵長壽的女性神像－白度母，‘…有如秋月之白－玲瓏剔透，身放五光，一面雙臂三眼；容貌似十六歲的妙齡少女。右手結施願印以示救助，左手拇指與無名指牽住白蓮花枝對著心間，花沿腕臂至耳共有三朵，一朵含苞，一朵半開，一朵全開，代表佛、法、僧三寶具足。身披寶珠瓔珞，著天衣綢裙，雙腿呈金剛跏趺坐。手腳心均有佛眼–象徵原始純淨意識的七隻眼睛’。（薩欽貢噶羅卓，1729–1783.《成就法集》第一卷，第65-73頁）。

3伐那婆斯尊者布面彩繪西藏17世紀101.5 x 59.5 cm (40 x 23 ½ in)

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4Arhat NagasenaDistemper on clothTibet18th century67.5 x 46 cm (26 ½ x 18 in)


Nagasena the Elder (Tibetan: ne ten, lu’i de; Sanskrit: Sthavira Nagasena) from a set of paintings depicting the Shakyamuni Buddha, his disciples and the Sixteen Great Elders (sthavira/arhat)

Appearing slightly old, Nagasena holds a vase in his right hand and a khakkhara (monk’s staff), which leans against his shoulder, in his left. In typical Chinese style, the Sixteen Great Elders (lohan) wear colourful robes and shoes. Nagasena is positioned in a relaxed manner atop a rocky seat. At his right-hand side, three figures offer him a wish-fulfilling jewel and a philosopher’s stone. A very small Buddha figure can be spotted high up in the composition.

A Sakya liturgical verse reads, ‘On the King of Mountains, Vipulopa is the noble elder, Nagasena, surrounded by 1,200 arhats; homage to the One holding a vase and a khakkhara staff’.

The Sixteen Great Arhats are generally painted as a set. Typically, the full group includes the Shakyamuni Buddha with his two foremost disciples, Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, along with the Sixteen Great Elders, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hvashang and the Four Direction Kings: Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka.

A lengthy inscription in verse at the bottom of the work is taken from a text with Praises to the Sixteen Great Elders, which was written by the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngagwang Lobzang Gyatso:

The vase of Nagasena was offered, along with many other precious vessels, by the Four Direction Kings in order to receive refuge in the Three Jewels and to benefit all beings. The divine [water] of the vase will cleanse karmic obscurations. Whoever hears the sound of the staff will be cleaned of all sickness, freed from all suffering, and the afflictions will be pacified and [all will] obtain faith in the Three Jewels.

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本幅那迦犀尊者（藏文：ne ten, lu'i de. 梵文: Sthavira Nagasena）來自一套描繪釋迦摩尼佛祖、其弟子和十六尊者（羅漢）的唐卡組圖。

畫中的那迦犀尊者略顯年邁，右手持花樽，肩部倚靠在左手握著的錫杖上。十六羅漢衣著鮮豔，是中原地區的典型繪製風格。那迦犀尊者以奇石為座，神情悠然自得。在他的身邊，有三位人物分別獻上了如意珠和點金石。在畫面的最上方繪有一尊較小的佛像。

一段薩迦誦文寫道，“山之王，最尊貴的那迦犀尊者維普利巴，一千二百位羅漢為眷屬；持花樽與錫杖者我禮敬。”

十六羅漢圖通常集成一套。典型的一套完整包括佛祖釋迦摩尼與其兩位弟子舍利弗和目犍連，十六羅漢，隨從的達摩多羅尊者，哈香尊者，以及四大天王──多聞天王，持國天王，增長天王和廣目天王。

底部的銘文來源於五世達賴喇嘛阿旺羅桑嘉措著成的《十六尊者禮讚文》中：我敬獻那迦犀尊者的花樽連同四大天王的眾多法器，以接受三寶藏的庇護，造福眾生。花樽中的聖水可以洗淨惡業。錫杖發出的聲響，聽者皆能祛除病業，平撫痛苦和苦難，並從三寶藏中重獲信念。”

4那迦犀尊者布面彩繪西藏18世紀67.5 x 46 cm (26 ½ x 18 in)

“

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5Konchog BangDistemper on clothTibet18th century72 x 48 cm (28 ¼ x 19 in)


ProvenancePrivate UK Collection

Front of the PaintingVimala Guru, Guhya Jnana and Nata Chintamani

Reverse of the Painting‘All phenomena arise from causes; those causes have been taught by the Tathagata, and their cessation, too, has been proclaimed by the Great Shramana’. (Rigpa Shedra translation)

Followed by: By the compassionate moon rays of Vimala Guru and Guhya Jnana, Nurturing the lily garden, Ripening the beings of the land of Uddiyana; To the One Lord Konchog Bang I pray!

Special FeaturesCursive script (Umay), includes the inscription, ‘Om Ah Hum’

According to the Kadam Legbam, Gyalpo (King) Konchog Bang is regarded as a pre-incarnation of Dromton Gyalwai Jungne (ca. 1004–1064) and the chief disciple of the Buddhist master Atisha (982–1054), and is considered a member of the early lineage of the Dalai Lamas. The Kadam Legbam, itself, was put into its final form by Chim Namkha Drag (1210–1285) in the late thirteenth century. In essence, it is a series of stories said to be the episodes and narratives of the previous lives of Dromton, as told orally and taught by Jowo Atisha.

Konchog Bang is the Tibetan name for an Indian king who is believed to have lived during the first millennium CE. All scholars know about him is what was recorded in the Kadam Legbam. The composition of this painting provides little additional information. Three secondary figures have name inscriptions; the figure in the top-right corner is the female tantric deity Guhya Jnana, said to have been the principle female teacher of Atisha and the Dalai Lama incarnations in their previous lives. These paintings were, however, copied, duplicated and made as textile sets, thus becoming an iconic set of images to represent the incarnation lineage of the Dalai Lamas up to the present time. Most Western museums have at least one painting or textile from this set.

Depicted as a king with a slightly furrowed brow, the moustached Konchog Bang wears thickly layered, colourful clothing and elaborate jewellery. His right hand extends across his knee, while he holds a folio in his left hand on his lap. His head is surrounded by a large red nimbus, and the king sits on an elaborate throne with his right leg extended and resting on a flower blossom. Two attendant figures stand to his right side.

At the top left of the work is an unidentified monastic figure wearing robes and a pandita hat, and holding a vajra scepter and a bell. At the top right is a figure of a woman, Dakki Wangdu; white in colour, in the appearance of a peaceful deity, she holds a damaru (double-sided drum) upraised in her right hand and a skull-cup in her left. She cradles a katvanga staff in the bend of her elbow. Atop a moon disc and pink flower blossom, she sits with her left leg pendant.

At the bottom-right corner of this composition is the wealth deity, Sita Shadbhuja Mahakala, in wrathful appearance. She is rendered in white, with six arms, holding a jewel, a wealth vase carried in a skull-cup, a curved knife, a damaru, a trident and a vajra hook. Surrounded by orange and red flames, Shadbhuja stands with her legs together.

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In the seventeenth century, the Dalai Lamas also claimed to be the reincarnation of Dromton, thus linking themselves to Konchog Bang of India as well as all of the stories contained in the Kadam Legbam, starting with that of Avalokiteshvara. This composition of Konchog Bang is the second from a thirteen-painting woodblock-print set depicting the previous incarnations of the 7th Dalai Lama, Kalzang Gyatso (1708–1757).

On the reverse of the painting is the Ye Dharma Formula written in Tibetan decorative letters, but in the Sanskrit language: Om ye dharma hetu prabhava hetum tesham tathagato hyavadat tesham cha yo nirodha evam vadi maha shramana svaha. (All phenomena arise from causes; those causes have been taught by the Tathagata, and their cessation, too, has been proclaimed by the Great Shramana [Rigpa Shedra translation].)

Following the verse above, there are an additional four lines of praise to Konchog Bang:

By the compassionate moon rays of Vimala Guru and Guhya Jnana, Nurturing the lily garden, Ripening the beings o fth eland of Uddiyana; to the One Lord, Konchog BanI, pray!

Each of the figures on the front have, on the reverse of the painting, the three syllables representing body, speech and mind – Om Ah Hum – written at the locations of the forehead, throat and heart.


來源英國私人珍藏

畫面前部維瑪拉大師，智慧空行母密智和如意寶珠

畫面背部 “諸法因所生，如來已曾教此因，諸法之所滅，大沙門亦曾宣說。”

隨後：在維瑪拉尊師和智慧空行母密智慈悲的月光下，滋養著百合園，溫潤著烏萇國的眾生，敬獻王者貢秋幫！

特點：草書書法，包括銘文“嗡阿吽”

根據《噶當書》記載，貢秋幫國王被認為是仲敦巴（約1004－1064年）的前世、佛教尊師阿底峽（982– 1054）的大弟子、屬達賴喇嘛早期承傳譜系。《噶當書》是由钦·南喀札巴(1210–85) 在13世紀晚期編寫成冊的。是由阿底峽口述，紀錄了仲敦巴前世的故事和教誨。

貢秋幫是生活在公元一世紀的一位印度國王，貢秋幫是他的藏文名。目前對貢秋幫的所有了解基本上都來源於《噶當書》，而本張唐卡也未能提供更多的信息。畫中的三位次要人物下方皆有銘文，分別註明了各自的身份。右上角為密宗中的智慧空行母密智，她是阿底峽主要的女性師父，也是達賴喇嘛前世的化身。這些畫作常被模仿、複製、做成織物，逐漸成為一套標誌性的圖像，代表達賴喇嘛化身的譜系。多數西方博物館中至少有一幅這樣的畫作或織物。

貢秋幫常以國王的形象出現，眉頭微皺，八字鬍鬚。身著服飾，色彩鮮豔，層層交疊，點綴以精美繁複的珠寶。畫中貢秋幫右手垂膝，左手置於腿上，握有經書一卷。紅色光圈環繞頭頂，正坐於寶坐上，右腿前伸，搭於花台上。兩位侍從陪伴於右側。

畫面的左上方是一位身份未知的僧侶，身著長袍，頭戴班智達帽，手持金剛杵和鈴。畫面的右上方有一位女性的形象，為智慧空行母，白色, 以慈悲相出現。右手高舉達瑪茹鼓（雙面鼓），左手捧骷髏帽，肘間環抱倚天杖。後有滿月背光，坐於粉色蓮台上，左腿垂懸。

畫面的右下角是怒相的財神，瑪哈嘎拉：白色六臂，分別持珠寶、骷髏帽和帽中的聚寶瓶、彎刀、雙面鼓、三叉戟和金剛鉤。紅橙火焰圍繞其四周，雙腿併攏而立。

17世紀時的多位達賴喇嘛也宣稱是仲敦巴轉世，因此將自己與印度的貢秋幫國王，還有《噶當書》中從觀音開始敘述的所有故事連繫在一起。本件作品來自於一套共十三幅、描繪七世達賴噶桑嘉措（1708－ 1757）前世轉生的木版畫，本幅唐卡是其中的第二件。

畫背面的《緣起偈》用梵文寫就、但採用的是藏文書法的風格：“諸法從因生，諸法從因滅，如是滅與生，沙門說如是”（Rigpa Shedra譯）。

在《緣起偈》之上，有四句獻給貢秋幫的讚文：

在維瑪拉尊師和智慧空行母密智慈悲的月光下，滋養著百合園，溫潤著烏萇國的眾生，敬獻王者貢秋幫！

畫面中的每位人物都在畫的背面都有相對應的身、口、意標誌──嗡，阿，吽──分別寫在每位人物的頭、喉和心的位置。

5貢秋幫布面彩繪西藏18世紀72 x 48 cm (28 ¼ x 19 in)

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6King RalpachenDistemper on clothTibetLate 17th century 52 x 31 cm (20 x 12 in)


ProvenanceKoller Auktionen (2 June 2015, Lot 170)Private European Collection; acquired from Galerie Koller (Zurich, 1980s)

Ralpachen, the 41st King of Tibet (ca. 806); ruled from 815 to 839 CE

Rarely painted alone, Ralpachen is usually featured as part of a larger set of compositions. He is often included as one of three main figures in a single scene depicting the three most important Buddhist kings of Tibet: Tri Songtsen Gampo, Trisong Detsen and Tri Ralpachen.

Ralpachen is typically shown with a vajra and a bell, which are supported by two flower blossoms over his right and left shoulders. Alternately, one flower can hold both objects. Surrounded by a halo, he sits inside a palacelike structure with his left leg extended in a relaxed posture. A large bowl of wish-fulfilling jewels is positioned in front of him. The inclusion of the vajra attribute signifies that Ralpachen is an emanation of the bodhisattva Vajrapani. He wears heavy clothes, a turban-crown and boots of felt and leather. In front of him and to his right-hand side is a kneeling figure holding a text or a letter. Figures like this typically depict a minister awaiting instructions or conveying news about the kingdom.

Such compositions became fashionable at the time of the 5th Dalai Lama in the mid-seventeenth century and also later, when value was placed on renewed Tibetan nation-building with a strong emphasis on the royalty of the distant past.

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來源科勒拍賣（2015年6月2日，拍品170）歐洲私人珍藏，購於科勒畫廊（蘇黎世，20世紀80年代）

赤祖德贊，西藏的第四十一位帝王（約公元806年）；於公元815年至839年統治西藏。

赤祖德贊很少自成一畫，通常出現在一套畫作的其中一張之中。西藏歷史上最重要的吐蕃三大法王時常被描繪在同一幅畫中，他們分別是：松贊乾布、赤松德贊、和赤祖德贊。

典型描繪赤祖德贊的畫面中，法王左右兩側各盛開鮮花一朵，花芯上各立有金剛杵和鈴。在一些畫中，有時也會看到金剛杵和鈴被並列在同一朵花芯上。赤祖德贊周身光圈環繞，安坐於看似宮廷的一棟建築物內，左腿前伸，神態輕鬆。在他的前方置有盛滿如意珠的寶砵。該圖中對於赤祖德贊的刻畫融入了金剛特質，暗指其為金剛手菩薩的化身。他身著重衫，戴頭巾式王冠，腳踩皮氈靴。其前方右手邊畫有一位侍從跪舉經書一卷或信函一封。類似畫風的侍從形象多是用以刻畫聽旨或上奏的大臣。

此類的唐卡構圖在五世達賴時期，即17世紀中期及其後，較為盛行。當時西藏社會強調民族復興，因此描繪歷史上歷任藏王的繪畫備受推崇。

6赤祖德贊布面彩繪西藏17世紀晚期52 x 31 cm (20 x 12 in)

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7 Manjushri with an AttendantDistemper on clothTibet, eastern region18th century 74 x 43 cm (29 x 17 in)


ProvenanceRolf Van Buren Collection, in the 1980sLaurent & Dominique Solomon Private Collection, Singapore, since the 2000s

Manjushri (Tibetan: Jampalyang, Jampaiyang [rje btsun ‘jam pa’i dbyangs]) is a popular Buddhist figure commonly represented in art. He first arises from the Mahayana Sutra literature of northern Buddhism, in which he is regarded as the bodhisattva of wisdom. In artistic depictions of this form, his iconography is not fixed: Manjushri still has one face and two arms. His typical emblem is a Prajnaparamita Sutra book, which he holds in his left hand or supports with a flower blossom. He often brandishes a sword in his right hand. In art, he is typically depicted in a relaxed posture, in front of a temple or in narrative settings.

This single composition of Manjushri belongs to a nine-painting set depicting the Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Typically, the central painting of the set features either the Shakyamuni Buddha or the Amitabha Buddha. The painting style appears to be East Tibetan, from the Lhatog region south of Chamdo, and is strongly associated with Khampa Gar, a stronghold of the Drugpa Kagyu tradition of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Eight Great BodhisattvasAkashagarbhaAvalokiteshvaraKshitigarbhaMaitreya ManjushriNivarana-vishkhambhinSamantabhadraVajrapani

A figure in peaceful appearance, Manjushri has an orange complexion, with one face and two arms. In his right hand, he holds the stem of a blue utpala flower, which supports an upright sword. In his left hand, which extends across his knee, he grasps the stem of a white flower blossoming beside his left ear and supporting a folio text. His patterned upper robe is made of a white material; his plain lower robe is red. A green and blue ribbonlike scarf hovers about his shoulders and falls to his sides. The deity’s head and body are adorned with a variety of jewellery. Depicted in a relaxed manner atop a blue dragon-patterned cloth, Manjushri sits with his left leg pendant, his foot resting on a short, green, flower-shaped stool. The whimsical throne has curves and unusual structures, and is adorned with multicoloured wish- fulfilling jewels.

In some Tibetan traditions, peaceful deities are identified by the Thirteen Adornments of the Peaceful Deity, which include the Five Silken Garments and the Eight Jewel Ornaments. The Five Silken Garments are: a scarf, pendants for the crown, the upper garment, the lower garment and sleeves for dancing. The Eight Jewel Ornaments are: a crown, earrings, a short necklace, a medium necklace, a long necklace, a shoulder ornament, bracelets and anklets.

Manjushri wears most of these garments and ornaments, which are described in technical manuals written for religious rituals and meditation practice. The artist of this work, however, also had a fair amount of freedom to reinterpret the deity’s garments and ornaments. In this case, we have a non-iconic depiction of Manjushri, which means that he is being portrayed as a student of the Buddhas, as described in the sutra literature of Mahayana Buddhism.

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Tantric images of Manjushri are technical and precise, iconic and unchanging, and, for the most part, static and formalised. Mahayana depictions are fluid and dynamic, and generally only conform to cultural and artistic conventions, and not to technical iconographic tantric literature.

With these kinds of depictions, which fall under the category of Mahayana Buddhism, there are no strict iconographic descriptions for the bodhisattvas. They can sit in any posture that the artist chooses. They can carry their attributes in any manner, have them rest on a table at their side or even held in the hand of an attendant figure. The colours of the garments are influenced by the colour chosen for the figure’s face, body and arms.


來源Rolf Van Buren舊藏，20世紀80年代Laurent & Dominique Solomon舊藏，新加坡，2000年左右

文殊菩薩（藏文：Jampalyang, Jampaiyang [rje btsun ‘jam pa’i dbyangs]）是唐卡中常見的主題人物。文殊菩薩最初以智慧菩薩的身份出現於大乘佛經中。刻畫文殊菩薩的藝術手法，沒有固定的準則。一般，文殊菩薩以一面雙臂的形象出現。其最典型的標識是一本般若波羅蜜多佛經，通常持於左手或擺放在盛開的花朵中。右手持劍。在大部分的藝術表達中，文殊菩薩的神態輕鬆自得，安坐於一座廟宇或是某一敘事环境中。

本幅文殊菩薩像來自一套共九幅描繪八大菩薩的唐卡。通常，這樣一組唐卡的中心人物是釋迦摩尼或阿彌陀佛。畫風與西藏東部的拉脫地區相似，尤其與竹巴噶舉傳統的康巴噶風格有關聯。

八大菩薩：虛空藏觀音地藏彌勒文殊除蓋障普賢金剛手

本幅畫中，文殊菩薩呈寂靜像，膚色偏橙，一面雙臂。右手握優缽羅花之莖，其盛開的花朵上立有寶劍一把。左手垂膝，手握白蓮花，其上擺有佛經對開本一部，花沿腕臂至耳部。身著衣袍，上白下紅，肩披藍綠絲帶，周身飾以瓔珞珠寶。畫中的文殊菩薩悠然安坐於一塊龍紋藍布上，左腿垂懸，腳搭於綠色花臺上。菩薩的頭冠有別於傳統，形狀彎曲，結構特殊，飾有多色許願珠。

在某些藏傳佛教傳統中，常會提到报身佛具有的十三重飾物，其中包括五種服飾和八種寶飾。其中，五種服飾是指：絲帶，頭冠墜飾，上裝，下裝，舞袖。八種寶飾分別是：五佛冠，耳環，短項鍊，舍母朵（中長項鍊），夏朵（長到肚臍的項鍊），臂環，手鐲和腳環。

本幅畫中，文殊菩薩身著的各種衣飾大多可以在有關佛教儀式和禪修的文獻中找到。畫師對於菩薩身周的服飾可以自由解讀與發揮。此處的文殊菩薩是以大乘佛教中佛祖之弟子身份予以描繪的。

密宗中文殊菩薩的形象精細，少有變化，安靜莊重，極具代表性。而大乘佛教中對於文殊菩薩的描繪則生動流暢，多遵守某一文化或藝術風格的既成傳統，而不是恪守密續經典中的文字描述。

本幅唐卡屬大乘佛教的藝術风格，對於菩薩的刻畫並沒有嚴格的肖像圖解。菩薩可以有多種不同的坐姿，所持的法器可以被置於旁桌上，也可以由侍從手持。其服飾的顏色也會收到主尊面部和身體配色基調的影響。

7文殊菩薩與侍從布面彩繪西藏，東部地區18世紀74 x 43 cm (29 x 17 in)

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8VajrapaniDistemper on clothTibet, eastern region18th century73.5 x 44 cm (29 x 17 ¼ in)


ProvenanceRolf Van Buren Collection, 1990Laurent & Dominique Solomon Private Collection, Singapore

Vajrapani: Bodhisattva from a set of nine compositions depicting the Eight Great Bodhisattvas of the Mahayana sutra tradition; the identity of the central figure for this painting set has not yet been verified, but most likely, it will be either the Shakyamuni Buddha or the Amitabha Buddha

In this form, Vajrapani is peaceful in appearance and dark blue in colour, with one face and two hands. He holds his right hand to his heart; in it, he clutches the stem of a flower blossom supporting a half-vajra sceptre, gold in colour. His left hand rests on his thigh in a relaxed manner. From under his gold crown, which is decorated with wish-fulfilling jewels, locks of black hair fall loosely. Adorned with gold earrings, a necklace and bracelets, the deity is richly attired in multicoloured silk garments of violet, green and orange. In a relaxed posture, with his legs loosely placed, he sits atop a modest red throne and his head is framed by a simple, albeit large, ring of light. In the shade of a large tree, he dwells placidly against a mountainous background.

In the foreground, a standing lay attendant figure holds a tray supporting a vajra sceptre and an upright vajra-handled bell.

The Buddhas Amitabha, Medicine Buddha and Akshobhya are usually depicted to show the additional enlightened figures of Mahayana Buddhism. Sets of bodhisattva paintings such as these are important, as they represent the realised students from the Mahayana sutra tradition. Another set of compositions is used to portray the historical Mahayana teachers, such as Nagarjuna (ca. 150–250 CE) and Asanga (fl. 4th century).

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來源Rolf Van Buren舊藏，20世紀80年代Laurent & Dominique Solomon舊藏，新加坡，2000年左右

金剛手菩薩：來源於一套共九張描繪大乘佛教中八大菩薩的唐卡之一。畫中的中心人物身份尚未能完全確定，但最有可能為釋迦摩尼或阿彌陀佛。

畫中的金剛手菩薩，深藍色，神態平和，一面雙臂。右手置於胸前，手捏花莖，盛開的花朵中央承托著金剛杵。左手輕垂於腿上。黑色髮髻高盤於王冠之上，少有幾縷髮絲散落，王冠繪以金色，上飾有如意珠。金剛手菩薩身著絲袍紫色、綠色、橙色，多彩華麗，飾以金色耳環、項鍊和手環，雙腿散盤在裝飾並不繁複的紅色寶座上，悠然自得。簡潔明亮的大背光襯托著菩薩的頭部，他安坐在高過頭頂的大樹樹蔭下，身後山巒重重。

在畫面的前景中，一位隨從手捧托盤，盤中盛有金剛杵和金剛鈴。

阿彌陀佛，藥師佛和阿閦佛通常作為大乘佛教中的覺者而予以刻畫。諸如此類的菩薩圖展現了大乘佛教中諸位覺者，因而十分重要。另有一組圖像刻畫的是例如龍樹（約公元前150-250年）和無著（fl. 四世紀）等在大乘佛教歷史上影響深遠的法師。

8金剛手菩薩布面彩繪西藏18世紀73.5 x 44 cm (29 x 17 ¼ in)

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9VajrapaniDistemper on clothChina18th century109.8 x 72.5 cm (43 ¼ x 28 ½ in)


ProvenancePrivate Swedish Collection; acquired in the late 1930s

This painting of Vajrapani belongs to a set of nine works showing the Eight Great Bodhisattvas, along with the central figure of the Shakyamuni Buddha or the Amitabha Buddha.

In this depiction, Vajrapani is gold in colour, which reflects the preference of either the donor or the artist. In peaceful guise, this deity is often painted in green or blue, but there are no iconographic rules for showing the bodhisattva figures of the Mahayana sutras. There are, however, certain conventions that were adopted over time, which can also vary from region to region. The only way to identify Vajrapani is if he is holding a vajra scepter or has one close at hand. In this composition, he grasps the stems of two flowers blossoming at his shoulders. On the flower on his right-hand side, a vajra stands upright, balanced at the centre of the blossom. The deity’s two hands are shown in a relaxed gesture, in vague imitation of the dharma teaching mudra. He wears lavish jewellery and heavenly, multicoloured garments with different patterns. His legs, crossed at the ankles, are placed in a posture of ease. A coloured halo and rainbow nimbus surround his body.

Seated on a decorative throne platform, an elaborate torana extends to his sides and upwards. A torana is a structure like a gate, a gateway, an arch, a throne-back, a backrest or a decorative niche surrounding a deity, a god, the Buddha, a bodhisattva, a religious hierarch, a teacher or a saint. The word torana derives from Sanskrit, and is commonly used as the term to describe the stylised decorative framework surrounding sculptural and painted figures in Indian art, specifically, and in Asian art, in general.

The torana here is known as one of the Six Ornaments, and follows a late Tibetan style popularised in the seventeenth century. The ornaments refer to the figures of an elephant, a lion, a sharabha (a mythological, eight-legged, part-lion and part-bird creature), a boy, a part-terrestrial part-aquatic creature known as a makara and a naga (a serpent deity), and are topped with a garuda (a legendary birdlike creature). An elaborate and decorative canopy is placed at the very top.

Symbolically, the Six Ornaments have many meanings, such as ‘the seven things to be eliminated on the path, the six perfections, the four gathering things, the strength of the ten powers, the stainless and the clear light’ (Thubten Legshay Gyatsho, Gateway to the Temple: Manual of Tibetan Monastic Customs, Art, Building and Celebrations [Kathmandu: Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1979], 46).

At the top of the composition are clouds supporting heavenly musicians and offerings to the gods and goddesses. In the foreground are the Eight Auspicious Symbols, each standing upright on a lotus blossom surrounded by a verdant landscape.

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來源瑞典私人珍藏，購於20世紀30年代

本幅金剛手菩薩唐卡屬於一套共九幅描繪八大菩薩的組畫，其中心人物是釋迦摩尼和阿彌陀佛。

畫中，金剛手菩薩用金色繪製，體現畫師或是供養人的用色偏好。在大乘佛教密教中，對於菩薩的刻畫並沒有特殊的圖解規定，多以青綠色描繪，呈寂靜像。雖然在歷史的發展中有一些約定俗成的畫法傳統，但因地域的不同都有所分別。識別金剛手菩薩，最重要的特徵就是看菩薩是否手持金剛杵，或手邊有金剛杵。本幅圖中，菩薩雙手分別握有兩根花莖，花朵盛開於菩薩的雙肩。位於右邊的花芯上立有金剛杵。菩薩雙手放鬆，呈說法印。飾瓔珞著天衣，菩薩雙腿盤坐，悠然輕鬆，四周環繞着彩色的光圈和背光。

菩薩正坐於寶座上，裝飾華麗的托拉納向上和兩邊延展開來。托拉納一詞可以用來指門、入口,也可以是拱門、寶座的後背，四周圍繞著神、佛、菩薩、宗教等級階層、或是上師。托拉納一詞源於梵文，在廣義的亞洲藝術和狹義的印度藝術中，多用於描述雕塑或繪畫中人物周圍的裝飾性框架。

托拉納被認為是六大裝飾之一，在17世紀流行的西藏藝術風格中較為常見。托拉納上飾有神象，雄獅，狮鹫兽（半獅半鳥、有八條腿的神話人物），男童，海獸摩伽羅和那伽蛇，最頂端可見大鵬金翅鳥迦樓羅。裝飾風格繁複精美的華蓋籠罩在最上方。

從象徵意義上看，六大裝飾形象涵義豐富。例如，“除七垢，六圓滿，四聚，十神力，清澈之光”。（土登列席嘉措,《寺之門：西藏寺院習俗、藝術、建築與節日之手冊》, 加德滿都：Ratna Pustak Bhandar, 1979, 第 46頁）

畫面的最上方繪有祥雲，其上有天宮樂師和獻給諸神的各色貢品。畫面的前景中繪有吉祥八寶，均擺放在蓮台之上，四周山水景色鬱鬱蔥蔥。

9金剛手菩薩布面彩繪中國18世紀109.8 x 72.5 cm (43 ¼ x 28 ½ in)

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10Red TaraPainting on clothTibet18th century 39.6 x 27.3 cm (15 ½ x 10 ¾ in)


Reverse of the Painting‘By the blessings and strength of the Goddess of Power, the three realms animate and inanimate, fulfilling the wishes to posses power; may the four activities spontaneously arise’.

PublishedBeyond Lhasa: Sculpture and Painting from East and West Tibet (London: Rossi & Rossi, 2002), fig. 20.

Red Tara (Drolma Marmo, Rakta Tara) with the figure of an historically important teacher above and a naga below

The Tara depicted in this painting is red in colour, with one face and two hands. Her right hand extends over her right knee, while her left hand, which holds the stem of a lotus flower, is placed over her heart. Wearing jewels and heavenly garments, she is seated in a relaxed posture, with her right leg pendant, atop a flat moon disc and pink lotus seat surrounded by rings of light. The background is sparse, an element typical for this type of composition as well as the new style of painting developed by Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1700–1774), the 8th Tai Situ Rinpoche and an important figure in the Karma Kagyu lineage, in Kham province of South-eastern Tibet. Palpung Monastery was the centre for popularising and dispersing this minimalist painting style with its emphasis on open backgrounds, sparse landscapes and bold, expressive, floating figures.

At the top centre of this work is Katog Tsewang Norbu (1698–1755), a teacher of Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1700–1774). Both were famous East Tibetan teachers of the eighteenth century.

At the bottom centre of the painting is an assortment of brightly coloured wish-fulfilling jewels and offerings. Slightly to the side is a naga serpent, partially submerged in a lotus pond, making offerings to the Tara above.

An inscription on the reverse of the composition reads:

By the blessings and strength of the Goddess of Power, The three realms animate and inanimate, Fulfilling the wishes to posses power; May the four activities spontaneously arise.

There are numerous forms of Tara and many forms of Red Tara, primarily based on the famous tantric text known as the Twenty-One Praises of Tara. Additional variations on the form of Tara have been added to the iconographic canon by the Revealed Treasure tradition of the Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism. In tantric Buddhist theory, colours are important, as they relate to the four types of spiritual activity: white represents peaceful activities, yellow is for increasing activities, red is for powerful activities and dark blue or black is for fierce or wrathful activities. The principal form of the deity is known as Syama, or Green Tara. The colour green is regarded as the combination of all colours and all activities, and hence, Green Tara is also called the Mother of All Activities.

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畫面背部銘文的中文翻譯:“借力量女神的祝福和神力，三個領域生命的有和無，兌現了擁有力量的願望，願四種活動自發產生。”

出版文獻《Beyond Lhasa: Sculpture and Painting from East and West Tibet》(倫敦: Rossi & Rossi, 2002), fig 20.

紅度母（藏文：Drolma Marmo, 梵文：Rakta Tara），其上方繪有歷史上重要的一位尊師形象，其下方有蛇神那伽。

畫中的度母以紅色呈現，一面雙臂。右手垂膝，左手置於胸前，拈優缽羅花。严饰璎珞著天衣，呈寂靜像，右腿垂懸於蓮花座前，四周光環圍繞。畫面的背景清爽簡潔，是這一類唐卡構圖的特徵，也是由西藏東南部喀木省的司徒班欽·卻吉迥乃(1700–74)、第八世大司徒仁波切和噶瑪噶舉派傳承的重要人物創造的典型唐卡畫風。八邦寺是創作和傳播這一極簡繪畫風格的中心，這一風格強調開闊的背景，稀疏的風景，和大膽、極具表現力的人物。

畫面的正上方繪有司徒班欽·卻吉迥乃（1700-1774）的師長噶陀仁珍.才旺諾布（1698–1755）。二者是十八世紀西藏東部的重要尊師。

畫面的底部是一排色彩鮮豔的如意珠和貢品。其中，蛇神那伽從蓮花池中露出半身，向度母供奉。

畫的背面有一段銘文，寫道：

“借力量女神的祝福和神力，三個領域生命的有和無，兌現了擁有力量的願望，願四種活動自發產生。”

佛教中度母和紅度母的形象多種多樣，大多基於著名的《二十一度母讚》中的描寫。度母形象的多種變式被納入藏傳佛教寧瑪派的大寶伏藏中。在密宗的教法上，顏色與精神活動相關：白色代表平和，黃色代表活躍，紅色意指力量，深藍或黑色意指憤怒。綠度母是這一類神像的主要代表，綠色被認為是融合了所有的顏色和活動。因此，綠度母被當作所有度母之主尊。

10紅度母布面彩繪西藏18世紀39.6 x 27.3 cm (15 ½ x 10 ¾ in)

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11Hevajra Distemper on clothTibet, central region17th century 98.6 x 72.8 cm (38 ¾ x 28 ¾ in)


ProvenanceThe Bortolot Collection, acquired from Navin Kumar Gallery, New York, September 1984

According to the lineage of Ngogton Choku Dorje (1036–1097) of the Marpa Kagyu tradition, these figures represent Hevajra and Nairatmya. From Ngogton’s descendants, branches of their lineage were incorporated into other Kagyu traditions, such as the Karma Kagyu School, as evidenced in this composition with the appearance of the school’s lineage holders, including three Karmapas and a Shamarpa.

‘...Shri Hevajra [has] a body blue in colour, eight faces, sixteen hands and four legs. The main face is blue, right white, left red, upper face smoky; the two remaining pairs of faces are black. Each face has three eyes and four bared fangs; yellow hair flowing upwards; the top of the head is marked with a vishvavajra. The sixteen hands hold sixteen skull-cups. The first right holds a white elephant, the first left holds the yellow God of Earth; these two embrace the Mother. In the second right is a blue horse; third – ass with a white patch; fourth – yellow bull; fifth – ash-coloured camel; sixth – red man; seventh – blue sharabha; eighth – cat with a white patch. In the second left hand is the white God of Water; third – red God of Fire; fourth – green God of Air; fifth – white God of the Moon; sixth – red God of the Sun; seventh – blue Yama; eighth – yellow Holder of Wealth. Each head has a crown of five dry human skulls; and a necklace of fifty fresh heads; six bone ornaments; the two right legs are extended, on the thighs the toes of the two folded left legs are pressing in the half-[vajra] posture in a dancing manner; possessing the nine sentiments of dancing: grace, strength and ugliness; laughter, ferocity and frightfulness; compassion, fury and peace. In the lap is the mother Vajra Nairatmya, with a body blue in colour, one face, two hands, three eyes; yellow hair flowing upwards; right a curved knife, left holding a skull-cup and embracing the father; five dry human skulls as a crown; a necklace of fifty dry [skulls]; five bone ornaments; left leg extended and the right drawn up embracing the father. Both are standing in the middle of a blazing fire of pristine awareness’ (Ngagwang Legpa, 1867–1941).

This form of Hevajra stands atop the four gods Brahma, Indra, Vishnu and Shiva, with two right legs extended and two left legs bent.

Descending on the right and left sides of the central figure are the Eight Goddesses:

‘...in the east black Gauri, right hand holding a curved knife, left a rohita fish; south red Chauri, right hand holding a damaru, left a pig; west yellow Vetali, right hand holding a tortoise, left a skull-cup; north green Ghashmari, right hand holding a snake, left a skull-cup; north-east blue Pukkashi, right hand holding a lion, left an axe; south-east white Shavari, right hand holding a monk, left a monk’s staff; south-west purple Chandali, right hand holding a wheel, left a plough; north-west multi-coloured Dombini, right hand holding a vajra, left a wrathful gesture. Also, all have one face, two hands, three eyes and yellow hair flowing upward; naked, adorned with five ornaments of bone; a crown of five human skulls and a necklace of fifty skulls. With the left leg extended and the right in a half-lotus posture, in a dancing manner, they stand in the middle of a blazing fire of pristine awareness’ (Konchog Lhundrub, 1497–1557).

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At the bottom of the composition are three forms of Hevajra: at the centre, with two arms, is ‘Body’ Hevajra; on the left side, with four arms, is ‘Speech’ Hevajra embracing the consort Vajravarahi; and on the right side, with six arms, is ‘Mind’ Hevajra embracing the consort Vajra Shringkhala. In some traditions, the ‘Body’ Hevajra embraces the consort Vajta Nairatmya, while in other traditions, he is called the ‘Solitary Hero’ and does not have a consort.


來源Bortolot 珍藏，1984年9月購於紐約Navin Kumar畫廊

依據瑪爾巴噶舉派的傳統，和俄•卻庫•多傑（1036–97）的承傳體系，畫中的兩位人物為喜金剛及其明妃金剛無我母。俄•卻庫•多傑的繼承者後將其傳承逐漸融入了噶舉派的其他派別中，例如噶瑪噶舉。本幅畫中同時並列出現了三位噶瑪巴和三位夏瑪巴，正反映了這一發展趨勢。

“…喜金刚蓝身，八面十六臂四足。其中，正面藍、右面白、左面紅、上面灰，其餘兩面皆黑。各面三眼，獠牙四顆，褐发朝天。頭頂飾有十字金剛杵。十六手中各持有顱碗。正面雙手擁抱明妃，其右手顱碗內有白象，左手顱碗內有地母。其餘右手顱碗內依次有藍馬、白斑青驴、黃牛、灰驼、红人、青狮、白斑赤猫; 其餘左手顱碗內依次有白水神、紅火神、青風神、白月神、紅日天、青骸帝、黃施財。每一面頭上各戴五顱冠；頸上各掛五十隻鮮頂骨；六枚骨飾；兩條右腿側伸，左腿彎曲，貼於右腿內側，呈舞姿半（金剛）式，表現喜金剛舞姿中的九種情緒：優美、力量和醜惡、歡喜、兇猛、慈悲、憤怒和寂靜。懷中的金剛無我母，藍身，一面雙臂三眼，褐髮朝天；右手握彎月刀，左手捧骷髏碗；五骷髏頭為冠，頸掛五十隻鮮頂骨，五枚骨飾；左腿側伸，右腿環抱喜金剛。象徵著原始純淨意識的熊熊火焰環繞四周”。（阿旺列巴， 1867–1941）

畫中的喜金剛腳踩印度教中的梵天、毗濕奴、因陀羅和濕婆，右腿前伸，左腿彎曲。

八大明妃位於喜金剛和明妃的左右兩側：

“…東方為黑身的少女空行母，其右手握彎月刀，左手執羯磨魚；南方有紅色卓日空行母，右手高舉達瑪茹鼓，左手執豬；西方有黃身白達裏空行母，右手執龜，左手捧骷髏碗；北方有綠身嘎瑪日(食火者)空行母，右手執蜃龍，左手骷髏碗；東北方有藍身的布嘎嘎斯屠戶空行母，右手捧白獅，左手執斧；東南方有白身的山居(獵女)空行母，右手捧比丘像，左手執錫杖；西南方有紫身的卑賤空行母，右手執八幅輪，左手執梨具；西北方有多色身的屠女空行母，右手執金剛杵，左手結期克手印。八大明妃各有一面雙臂三眼，褐髮朝天，赤身裸體，周身飾以骨飾，頭戴五髏冠，頸掛五十隻鮮頂骨。左腿直立，右腿呈半蓮舞姿，象徵著原始純淨意識的熊熊火焰環繞其四周”。（昆秋龍達，1497–1557）

畫面的底部有喜金剛的三相：正中間為雙臂的‘身’喜金剛；左側為四臂的‘語’喜金剛與金剛亥母；右側為六臂的‘意’喜金剛與明妃金剛連環母。在某些畫像中，‘身’喜金剛有時懷抱明妃金剛無我母，有時單獨出現。

11喜金剛與明妃金剛無我母布面彩繪西藏，中部地區17世紀 98.6 x 72.8 cm (38 ¾ x 28 ¾ in)

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12Mahakala ChaturbhujaDistemper on clothTibet18th–19th century76.3 x 54.4 cm (30 x 21 ½ in)


ProvenanceImages of Devotion, Bonhams, Hong Kong, 3 October 2017, Lot 28The Mactaggart Collection

Mahakala Chaturbhuja (Tibetan: gon po, chag shi pa; English: The Great Black One with Four Hands); the principal protector of the Chakrasamvara class of Tantras

With one face and four hands, and blue-black in colour, Mahakala glares ferociously with three large round eyes, bared fangs and yellow hair flowing upwards. In his first pair of hands, he clutches a fresh heart and a skull-cup, which he holds to his chest as he embraces his consort. In the second pair, he brandishes a sword and a staff with a pointed trident. Ferocious in appearance, his consort holds a skull-cup in her left hand (not visible) and an upraised, curved knife in her right. Both figures are adorned with a tiara of skulls, bones and jewelled ornaments, as well as garlands of heads and green silk scarves. The deity wears a tiger skin as a lower garment and his consort is adorned with a girdle of finely strung bone ornaments and a leopard skin. In a relaxed posture, they are seated above a multicoloured lotus, the sun and a corpse seat surrounded by the orange and red flames of pristine awareness. Eight figures, framed within the carnage of cemetery scenes, surround the central couple.

At the top centre of the composition is Padmasambhava, with Mandarava and Yeshe Tsogyal seated at either side. In the upper-left corner is the Amitabha Buddha. In the right-hand corner is Vajrasattva. Below them are the teachers of the Nyangral Nyima Ozer lineage.

This form of Chaturbhuja Mahakala was passed from Gva Lotsawa to Nyangral Nyima Ozer. Nyangral subsequently modified the central deity and retinue figures to suit Nyingma practice.

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來源Images of Devotion, 香港邦瀚斯2017年10月3日，拍品28號Mactaggart私人珍藏

四臂大黑天 (藏文: gon po, chag shi pa. 英文: the Great Black One with Four Hands); 勝樂金剛密法的護教神

四臂瑪哈嘎拉，身黑藍色，一面四臂，三目圓睜赤紅，發如劫火上揚。中間兩臂右持人心，左持骷髏碗，高舉至胸前，環抱明妃。第二雙臂右持寶劍，左持三叉戟。明妃呈怒相，左手捧骷髏碗，右手高舉彎月刀。二者皆頭飾骷髏冠，鮮血人首作頸鍊，周身綴以珠寶和綠絲巾。大黑天下著虎皮裙，明妃腰綴骨飾，下著豹皮裙。兩人端坐於莲花日轮尸座之上，四周烈焰如劫火燃盛。八位隨從伴隨左右，背後是墓地屠殺的血腥場景。

畫面的上方為蓮花生，曼達拉娃佛母與伊喜措嘉安坐其兩側。左上角為阿彌陀佛，右上角為金剛薩埵。畫面下方為酿尼玛沃瑟承傳部的上師像。

本幅畫中的四臂瑪哈嘎拉造像是由桂譯師傳給酿尼玛沃瑟。後者又將主尊和其隨從的造像風格加以修改，以符合寧瑪派的教法。

12四臂大黑天布面彩繪西藏18–19世紀 76.3 x 54.4 cm (30 x 21 ½ in)

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13VajrabhairavaDistemper on clothTibet18th century 102 x 66.2 cm (40 ¼ x 26 in)


ProvenancePrivate European Collection; acquired from Lithang Trading Company, Hong Kong, 15 December 1992

ExhibitedMasterworks: Jewels of the Collection, Rubin Museum of Art, New York (10 February–16 January 2017)

Vajrabhairava (Tibetan: dor je jig je; English: Vajra Terror) with the consort Vajra Vetali, surrounded by the main protectors of the Gelug tradition of Tibetan Buddhism

At the top centre of this work, Vajradhara is shown with Tsongkapa, the founder of the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism, and Jampal Gyatso, the 8th Dalai Lama, seated to the left. On the right side are Lobzang Yeshe, the 2nd (5th) Panchen Lama,1 and Gendun Gyatso, the 2nd Dalai Lama.

Descending on the left side are: meditational deity Akshobhyavjra Guhyasamaja, protector deity Shadbhuja Mahakala, wealth deity White Shadbhuja and protector deities Chaturmukha Mahakala and Shri Devi Magzor Gyalmo.

Descending on the right side are tantric deity Chakrasamvara, protector deities Panjara Mahakala and Chaturbhuja Mahakala, ‘Outer’ Yama Dharmaraja, Begtse Chen and Vaishravana riding a lion. At the bottom centre is Vajrabhairava’s consort, Ochen Barma, accompanied by three attendant figures.

Vajrabhairava, a wrathful form of Manjushri, functions as a meditational deity of the Anuttarayoga classification in tantric Buddhism. Vajrabhairava is not a protector deity and is not included in any Buddhist classifications of protectors. As a principal meditational deity, he belongs to the Vajrabhairava and Yamari classes of tantras, and specifically arises from the Vajrabhairava Root tantra (Tibetan: jig je tsa gyu). The Vajrabhairava and Yamari tantras belong to the method (father) classification of the Anuttaryoga tantra.

The practice of Vajrabhairava is common to the three main Sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism: Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug. Amongst the Sakya, the practice is counted as one of the four main tantric deities, along with Hevajra, Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara (Tibetan: gyu de shi). Amongst the various Kagyu schools, the Drigungpa are strong upholders of the practice. In the Gelug School, Vajrabhairava is the principal meditational deity taught for the Anuttarayoga practice, along with the meditational deities Akshobhyavajra Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara. There are numerous forms and styles of practice, from the very complex, with numerous deities, to the very concise, with a single Heruka form of one face and two arms. From amongst the many different lineages and teachings of Vajrabhairava to enter Tibet, it is said that the main ones were those of Rwa Lotsawa and Mal Lotsawa.

Wrathful deities of all types are typically painted onto a black background. This tradition began in the last half of the first millennium, and the literature is found in both Chapter Twenty-Five and Chapter Fifty of the Mahakala tantras. Each tantra has a separate chapter on the creation of a painting of Mahakala for personal ritual use. This tantric painting tradition was later expanded to include all wrathful figures, whether or not the artist or donor so chose to do so. In the nineteenth century, many Tibetan artists began to paint all forms of deities, peaceful and wrathful, as well as historical figures, on a black background, regardless of earlier traditions or tantric understanding.

1 There are two systems common-ly employed for numbering the Panchen Lamas. The first and ear-liest system, used by the Ganden Podrang and Lhasa administra-tion, begins with Panchen Chokyi Gyaltsen (1570–1662), teacher of the 5th Dalai Lama as the 1st Panchen Lama. The second sys-tem, which arose later – likely in the late 18th and 19th centuries with the Panchen Labrang of Tashi Lhunpo – begins with Kedrub Ge-leg Pal Zangpo (1385–1438) as the 1st Panchen Lama. Kedrub was a direct student of Tsongkapa. The followers of the Panchen Lama, Tashi Lhunpo Monastery and the Chinese government follow the Panchen Labrang manner of counting. The Ganden Podrang and many, if not all, Western scholars have used the earlier system, beginning with Chokyi Gyaltsen as the 1st Panchen. In publications and literature, it is now common to find both numbers side-by-side to remove any confusion as to the correct Panchen that might be refer-enced. There is certainly a degree of politics involved in determining how and why the two competing systems have developed and who adheres to which system.

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來源歐洲私人珍藏，1992年12月15日從香港理塘貿易公司獲得

展覽歷史Masterworks: Jewels of the Collection，紐約魯賓美術館（2016年2月10日–2017年1月16日）

大威德金剛 (藏文: dor je jig je; 英文 Vajra Terror) 與明妃金剛露漩，四周環繞著藏傳佛教格魯派的護法神。

畫面的上方，宗喀巴和八世達賴喇嘛──強白嘉措，位居左側，與大威德金剛並坐。二世（或五世）班禪喇嘛羅桑意希和二世達賴根敦嘉措，位居右側。

畫面左側自上而下繪有：密集金剛，六臂大黑天，白六臂大黑天，四臂大黑天以及吉祥天母。

畫面右側自上而下繪有：勝樂金剛，寶帳大黑天，四臂大黑天，閻羅法王（外修），大紅司命主，和騎於雄獅上的多聞天王。畫面的底部為吉祥天母與侍從。大威德金剛，為文殊菩薩的忿怒相，是無上瑜珈部的主要本尊之一。大威德金剛並不是護法神，也不存在於佛教分類中的護法神之列。作為主尊，他屬於無上瑜珈流派中的大威德金剛密續（藏文: jig je tsa gyu）。

大威德金剛密法在藏轉佛教三大薩瑪學派中十分普遍，即薩迦派，噶舉派和格魯派。在薩迦派中，他與喜金剛、密集金剛和勝樂金剛並為主尊。在噶舉派中，止貢巴是這一教法的堅定力行者。在格魯派中，大威德金剛，連同密集金剛和勝樂金剛並列為傳授無上瑜珈部的主尊。大威德金剛的表現形式和風格多變，即有以繁複的多神形象出現，也有簡潔的、以一面雙臂的黑魯嘎形象出現。流傳到西藏的大威德金剛教法有多個不同的流派和承傳，其中最主要的是熱羅譯師和瑪爾巴譯師開創的流派。

怒相的神像通常繪製在黑色的背景上。這一傳統始於一世紀的上半期，有關的文獻在大黑天密續的第二十五章和第五十章中皆有記載。每一密續都有獨立的章節講述創作大黑天圖以作個人儀禮之用。這一做法後又擴展到包涵了所有怒相的神祇，不論畫師或是供養人如何選擇。19世紀，眾多西藏的畫師開始將所有形態的神和歷史人物，無論是慈悲相或是怒相，無論早期的繪畫傳統如何，都畫在黑色的背景上。

13大威德金剛布面彩繪西藏18世紀102 x 66.2 cm (40 ¼ x 26 in)

現今共有兩種用於計算班禪喇嘛傳承系統的方法。甘丹頗章和拉薩政府使用的是最早的系統──始於五世達賴喇嘛的尊師，班禪喇嘛確吉堅贊 (1570-1662)，被封一世班禪喇嘛。第二種系統後來在大約在18世紀末至19世紀，由扎什倫布寺的班禪拉卜楞興起──始於宗喀巴的弟子，克主杰·格勒巴桑（1385-1438）被封為第一班禪喇嘛。班禪喇嘛的弟子、扎什倫布寺以及中國政府跟隨班禪拉卜楞的系統。而大部分的西方學者和甘丹頗章一樣，則使用最早的系統，以班禪喇嘛確吉堅贊作為一世班禪。如今，在出版刊物和文學作品中，會經常見到這兩種系統的資料同時出現，以免令人混淆所引用的班禪。關於兩個班禪喇嘛傳承系統如何，以及為何發展，以至於何人遵守哪種系統，當中肯定存在一定程度的政治因素。

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14Vajrabhairava Distemper and gilt on cottonTibet17th century 28.5 x 23.5 cm (11 ¼ x 9 ¼ in)


ProvenanceRobert/J.A.N. Fine Art; acquired in the late 1980s and early 1990s

Vajrabhairava Ekavira (Tibetan: dor je jig je, pa wo chig pa; English: The Solitary Hero Vajra Terror) is a wrathful tantric form of the Mahayana bodhisattva Manjushri. As Vajrabhairava, Manjushri performs the function of a complex meditational deity popular with all forms of the Sarma (or ‘New Tradition’) tantric schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

This ferocious Vajrabhairava is black in colour with nine faces, thirty-four hands and sixteen legs. His main face is that of a buffalo, above which there is a red face; the slightly angry yellow face of Manjushri is placed on top. Flames entwine the buffalo’s two horns, which shoot fire from their tips. The three faces on the right, stacked one atop the other, are blue, red and yellow; the three faces on the left are white, smoky grey and black. Each face has three large, round eyes and bared fangs, and conveys a different emotion; yellow hair flows upwards like rising flames. Each face is also adorned with a crown of five skulls and bone earrings. The deity wears a snake necklace and a garland of fifty heads.

His first pair of hands grasps a curved knife and skull-cup to the heart. The remaining hands brandish a multitude of weapons, with the last set also holding the fresh outstretched hide of an elephant. His right legs are bent, pressing down on a variety of creatures and gods, whilst his left legs are extended straight and press upon eight birds and various gods. Above a sun disc and multicoloured lotus blossoms, he stands in the middle of a mass of orange flames of pristine awareness.

At the bottom centre of this work is the special protector of the Vajrabhairava cycle of practice, Yama Dharmaraja: black, with one face and two hands holding a stick and a noose, he is embraced by the consort Chamundi and mounted atop a buffalo; the two are engulfed by flames. Surrounding the central figures are worldly gods and deities from the mandala.

As a meditational deity, Vajrabhairava, also sometimes referred to as Yamantaka, belongs to the Bhairava and Yamari class of tantras and, specifically, arises from the Vajrabhairava Root tantra (Tibetan: jig je tsa gyu). All of these belong to the method (father) classification of the Anuttaryoga tantra. The practice of Bhairava is common to the three Sarma schools: Sakya, Kagyu and Gelug. Amongst the Sakya, he is counted as one of the four main tantric deities, along with Hevajra, Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara (Tibetan: gyu de shi). Amongst the various Kagyu schools, the Drigungpa have been strong upholders of this practice. In the Gelug School, Vajrabhairava is the principal meditational deity taught for the Anuttarayoga practice, along with the meditational deities Akshobhyavajra Guhyasamaja and Chakrasamvara. There are numerous forms and styles of practice, ranging from the very complex, with numerous deities, to the very concise, with a single Heruka form (one face and two arms). From the many lineages to enter Tibet, the main ones were those of Jowo Atisha, Rwa Lotsawa and Mal Lotsawa.

The style of this painting is black ground (Tibetan: nag thang), which consists of a gold outline on a black background with various colours used for detailing the figures. Traditionally, this style is reserved for wrathful figures.

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來源Robert/J.A.N. Fine Art，購於20世紀80年代晚期/20世紀90年代早期

大威德金剛（藏文：dor je jig je, pa wo chig pa；英文：The Solitary Hero Vajra Terror）為大乘佛教中文殊菩薩的憤怒像。文殊菩薩以大威德金剛之怒像出現，作為藏傳佛教中密宗各派新教禪修中的主尊。

畫中的大威德，黑身，九面，三十四臂，十六足。九面中位居正中的為水牛頭面，其上為紅面；最上方一面是略顯憤怒的黃色，呈文殊菩薩本像。兩隻水牛角四周火焰纏繞，角的頂端火光四濺。右側三頭，青、紅、黃；左側三頭，白、灰、黑。每一面均有三目雙獠牙，傳達著不同情緒。褐髮朝天，有如火焰。同時，每一面均飾有五骷髏冠與骨耳環。大威德金剛身著蛇鍊和五十頂首鍊。

位於正中的一雙手持有彎刀與骷髏碗，置於胸前。其餘的每雙手都持有不同法器，包括象皮。右腿彎曲，壓一眾天王，左腿前伸，壓八女明王。大威德立於蓮台日輪上，四周圍繞這象徵著純淨意識的橙色火焰。

畫面的底部是大威德金剛密法的護法神，閻羅法王：黑色，一面雙臂，分別手持人骷髏棒和繩索，與明妃撒門底站立在水牛上。兩人同樣被火焰包圍。其四周繪有曼陀羅中的世間神像。

大威德金剛，又稱閻曼德迦，是無上瑜珈流派中大威德金剛密續的主尊。密法在藏轉佛教三大薩瑪（新）學派中十分普遍，即薩迦派，噶舉派和格魯派。在薩迦派中，他與喜金剛、密集金剛和勝樂金剛（藏文：gyu de shi）並為主尊。在噶舉派中，止貢巴是這一教法的堅定力行者。在格魯派中，大威德金剛，與密集金剛和勝樂金剛並為無上瑜珈派的主尊，大威德金剛的表現形式和風格多變，即有以繁複的多神形象出現，也有簡潔的、以一面雙臂的黑魯嘎形象出現。流傳到西藏的大威德金剛教法有多個不同的流派和承傳，其中最主要的是由阿底峽、熱羅譯師和瑪爾巴譯師分別開創的流派。

本幅唐卡繪製在黑色的背景上（藏文：nag thang），以金線勾勒輪廓，以其他顏色繪畫人物細節。這一風格傳統上用於描繪呈憤怒狀的神像。

14大威德金剛布面彩繪和鎏金西藏17世紀28.5 x 23.5 cm (11 ¼ x 9 ¼ in)

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Rossi & Rossi was founded in London in 1985 by Anna Maria Rossi, who has been active in the field of Asian art for some forty years. In 1988, she was joined by her son, Fabio, who had studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Together, they have established a reputation as leading dealers in traditional Indian and Himalayan art, early Chinese and Central Asian textiles and works of art, and contemporary Asian art.

Their deep interest in both the art and culture of the past and the vibrant and innovative works being created by Asian artists today is reflected in their international reputation for handling only the finest works. Amongst their clients are the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Rubin Museum of Art, New York; the Cleveland Museum of Art; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Louvre Abu Dhabi; the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; the Tokyo National Museum; and the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore, as well as distinguished private collectors.

The gallery regularly stages exhibitions at its spaces in Hong Kong and London, and showcases classical works at international art fairs, including TEFAF Maastricht, Fine Art Asia Hong Kong and Guardian Fine Art Asia Beijing. In conjunction with these presentations, Rossi & Rossi has also produced a number of important scholarly publications.

ABOUT ROSSI & ROSSI

Rossi & Rossi由Anna Maria Rossi於1985年在倫敦創立，Anna Maria Rossi在亞洲藝術領域活躍至今已有四十余年。1988年，其子Fabio加入其中，Fabio曾就讀於倫敦大學的亞非學院。兩人共同創立的畫廊在古典印度和喜馬拉雅藝術、中國和中亞早期織物、以及亞洲當代藝術領域蜚聲國際。

兩人即熱愛古典文化和藝術，也對當下亞洲藝術家的創意和思考興趣濃厚。他們在國際上以經手最優秀的藝術品而著稱。其客戶包括：紐約大都會博物館，紐約魯賓美術館，克里夫蘭美術館，休斯頓美術館，牛津阿什莫爾博物館，阿布達比盧浮宮，悉尼新南威爾士美術館，東京國立博物館，新加坡亞洲文明博物館，以及其他眾多知名的私人收藏。

Rossi & Rossi 在其位於倫敦和香港的空間定期舉辦展覽，並參與多個國際藝博會，呈現古典藝術精品，其中包括荷蘭馬斯特里赫特的TEFAF藝博會，香港的典雅藝博，和北京的嘉德典雅藝博。除此之外，畫廊也致力於推出多本重要的學術出版物。

關於 ROSSI & ROSSI

Anna Maria RossiOwner/Founder

Fabio RossiOwner/Principal

Giovanni MartinoPartner, Rossi Martino

STAFFCorey Andrew BarrDirector, Hong Kong

Mauro RiberoDirector, London

Kim-ling HumphreyGallery Manager, London

Ashley ShenGallery Associate, Hong Kong

Sophie von Wunster,Sales and Research Associate, Hong Kong

Yancy WanArt Handler, Hong Kong

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TIBETAN THANGKASBuddhist Paintings from the 17th to the 19th Century

Rossi & Rossi Hong Kong

AuthorJeff Watt

EditorEti Bonn-Muller globaleditorialservices.com

DesignDaily Good Studio

PhotographyYancy Wan

Copyright © 2018 Rossi & Rossi Ltd. and the author

Unless otherwise indicated, all images courtesy of Rossi & Rossi.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any storage or retrieval system, without prior permission from the copyright holders and publishers.

Rossi & RossiYally Industrial Building, Unit 3C6 Yip Fat StreetWong Chuk HangHong Kong

+852 3575 [email protected]

ISBN 978-1-906576-55-4

Front cover: Vajrapani (detail), distemper on cloth, China, 18th century, 109.8 x 72.5 cm (43 ¼ x 28 ½ in)

Back cover:Arhat Nagasena (detail), distemper on cloth, Tibet, 18th century91 x 60 cm (35 ¾ x 23 ½ in)

tibetan thangkas - rossirossirossirossi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/tibetan...intensively in...

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