Tibet
Circa 18th century
Distemper on cloth
19 3/8 by 25 7/8 in. (49.3 by 65.1cm.)
Provenance:
Christian Humann (Pan-Asian Collection), 1974-1982
Robert Hatfield Ellsworth, New York, 1982-1993
European Private Collection, acquired in 1993
In the tradition of gyentsog (sets of ornaments) painting, the central deity is evoked by the portrayal of his/her vacant garments, ornaments, and attributes. Here, for example, a voluminous robe, flayed tiger-skin dhoti, garland of heads, and five-skull tiara indicate the Dharmapala Mahakala. In addition to Mahakala, smaller empty robes on his left and right suggest the inclusion of two additional dharmapalas. The deities are surrounded by a profusely-dispersed display of ritual objects, including representations of the eight auspicious symbols (ashtamangala): endless knot (srivatsa), lotus flower, pair of goldfish, dharmachakra, white conch shell, jeweled parasol, treasure vase, and victory banner. Skull-cups and other bowls with offerings and flaming tormas are depicted in the registers below. A group of musicians and dancers cavorts in a frenzied manner in the lower section, some with their heads turned to display their gold hair ornaments. In the background at the bottom, a variety of lively and somewhat menacing animals including jackals, elephants, tigers, mules, lions, yaks, leopards, stags, horses, peacocks, and parrots, amongst others, add to the overall composition. Bordering the scene at the top is a frieze with eviscerated human entrails, flayed skins, and severed human heads. A small figure of Garuda with wings spread hovers nearby.
Northeastern India, Bihar
Pala Dynasty, 9th century
Black stone
Height: 27½ in. (68.6 cm)
Inscribed with the Buddhist creed (‘ye dharma hetu…’)
Provenance:
Private Collection, Los Angeles, acquired in 1968
Mahapratisara is the principal goddess in the Pañcaraksā group, and her worship is widely prevalent amongst the Tantric Buddhists. She is represented either singly or in a mandala in the company of four other Pañcaraksā deities. She is generally yellow when worshipped independently and white when worshipped in the mandala of the five goddesses. This remarkable sculpture portrays Mahapratisara, the principal Raksha goddess, with her distinctive eight arms adorned with various symbolic attributes. In her central pair of hands, she holds the sutra of perfected wisdom (known as the Prajnaparamita sutra) in her left hand, while her right hand is open in a gesture of granting wishes (varada mudra). Her additional hands carry an axe, trident, lasso, sword, discus, and a three-pronged vajra, emphasizing her role as one of Buddhism’s most adept and well-equipped guardians.
Devotees hold the five Raksha goddesses in high regard as worldly protectors, each with specific functions to alleviate fear and protect against harm from sources such as dangerous animals, diseases, and natural disasters. These goddesses are also associated with mantras, special verbal utterances from sutras. Among these mantras, Mahapratisara’s, known as the Mahapratisara-Mahavidyarajni, is the most comprehensive, making her widely popular across Asia. Any follower, whether a monk or a lay devotee, can invoke her protection, often in the form of an amulet or an amulet containing her written incantation. Consequently, stone depictions of her divine persona are exceedingly rare.
This representation of the eight-armed protector goddess exhibits distinct stylistic characteristics reminiscent of 9th/10th-century sculptures from the early Pala period. A related example can be found at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1991.108).
Tibet
Late 14th century
Distemper and gold highlights on cotton canvas
33 1/8 by 29 1/8 in. (84.2 by 74 cm)
Provenance:
Rossi & Rossi, London
European Private Collection, acquired in 1993
This painting depicts the mandala of Shakyamuni Buddha in the form of Shakya Simha, as described in the Vajravali (Adamantine Garland) treatise by Abhayakaragupta (d. 1125), in which the Indian pandit compiled the mandala practice of esoteric Buddhist deities in extensive iconographic detail.[1]
The painting is one of numerous mandalas known from the same series that remains amongst the finest and most important Tibetan works of art from the second half of the fourteenth century. Paintings from the series were first published and recognized as masterpieces by Robert Burawoy in his seminal 1978 Paris exhibition “Peintures du monastère de Nor,” which featured four of the mandalas.[2] At that time the paintings were thought to be from Ngor monastery, but current scholarship suggests a provenance of Shalu is likely. Paintings from the set are preserved in museum and private collections worldwide, and their historical importance has been documented by scholars including Pratapaditya Pal,[3] Steven M. Kossak and Jane Casey Singer,[4] Amy Heller,[5] John C. Huntington and Dina Bangdel,[6] Jane Casey,[7] Steven Kossak,[8] and Jeff Watt.[9] Each of the mandalas depict Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen (1312-1375) at the center of the upper register, suggesting that the cycle of mandalas is dedicated to him. Lama Dampa was a student and patron of the celebrated scholar Buton Rinchen Drup (1290-1364), the eleventh abbot of Shalu monastery. Watt suggests the paintings may have been dedicated to Lama Dampa by his devoted student Chen-nga Chenpo (1310-1370).
The series is the most extensive of all Tibetan Vajravali mandala sets from the fourteenth century. Each example is designed and painted with the same vibrant palette and exquisite attention to detail. While the overall format and dimension of the paintings is the same throughout the series, the iconography of the deity represented dictates the final composition of each work. Here, Shakya Simha is seated on his crouching white snow-lion surrounded by an entourage of deities within the mandala palace. Unlike many in the series there are no charnel grounds depicted. In their place a ring of fabulous Vedic planetary deities encircles the palace. Buddhas within scrolling vine appear in the quadrants outside the palace. A Sakya lineage is depicted in the upper register, and deities and wealth gods in the lower register accompany the donor monk seated next to an offering table. This highly-important Tibetan painting retains its original blue silk fishtail-shaped mounts and resist-dyed silk veils.
1 See Jeff Watt, https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=1556
2 Robert Burawoy, Peintures du monastère de Nor, Paris, 1978
3 Pratapaditya Pal, Tibetan Paintings: A Study of Tibetan Thangkas, Eleventh to Nineteenth Centuries, Basel, 1984, and Tibet: Tradition and Change, Albuquerque, 1997, pp. 146-147
4 Steven M. Kossak and Jane Casey Singer, Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet, New York, 1998, pp. 163-164
5 “The Vajravali Mandala of Shalu and Sakya: The Legacy of Buton (1290-1364)” in Orientations, Hong Kong, May 2003, pp. 69-73
6 John C. Huntington and Dina Bangdel, The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art, Serindia, 2003, pp. 308-312
7 Jane Casey in Divine Presence, Barcelona, 2003, p. 148
8 Steven M. Kossak, Painted Images of Enlightenment: Early Tibetan Thangkas, 1050-1450, Mumbai, 2010, pp. 107-109
9 Jeff Watt, https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=2083
10 Ibid.
North India, Himachal Pradesh
6th/7th century
Brass
Height: 7½ in. (19 cm)
Provenance:
Arnold H. Lieberman, New York
The Kronos Collections, acquired in 1995
Published:
Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Art Institute of Chicago exhibition catalogue, 2003, cat. no. 53
Exhibited:
“Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure,” Art Institute of Chicago, April 5–August 17, 2003; Smithsonian Institution, October 18, 2003–January 11, 2004
This brass relief represents the Hindu god Shiva, the facial features worn by the repeated use of ritual unguents. His face with full lips with the ends of a moustache projecting upwards from the corners of his mouth, petite nose, and delicate almond-shaped eyes beneath arched eyebrows. Shiva is wearing a double-stranded necklace with large circular jewels, two distinct ear ornaments in the form of a beaded ring and an antelope-skin respectively suspended in his pendulous earlobes, and simple crown with ribbed diadem decorated with trilobate foliate ornaments. His hair is arranged in rows of spiral ringlets on top of his head which cascade into tiers of sausage curls behind his ears.
Masks have a long, continuous history in India, beginning with terracotta examples excavated from Indus Valley cities (at their zenith circa 2600-1900 B.C.E). People in Rajasthan and Maharashtra continue to worship metal faces. Depictions of Shiva and Devi in the form of brass or silver mohras, however, are peculiar to the Himalayan regions. Extant masks from the post-Gupta period are extremely rare and were cast in the Chamba, Kulu, and Sutlej valley regions of Himachal Pradesh.
See M. Postel, A. Neven, and K. Mankodi, Antiquities of Himachal, 1985, 189 & fig 292; S. Kramrisch, Manifestations of Siva, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1980, p.102; H. Hartel, Museum for Indische Kunst, Berlin, Katalog, 1976, p. 182; and J. Guy, Indian Temple Sculpture, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2007, p. 146, pl. 164.
Tibet
Early 17th century
Distemper on cloth
42½ by 30¼ in. (108 x 77 cm)
Provenance:
Collection of Richard R. and Magdalena Ernst
Published:
David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting, Wien, 1996, p. 187, pl. 27
The blue, buffalo-headed Yamantaka is ithyphallic and without consort in his Ekavira Vajrabhairava manifestation, with nine faces, sixteen legs, and thirty-four arms, and holding a flayed elephant skin cape at his back and a panoply of ritual implements.
He is adorned with human skulls and bone jewelry, snakes, and a garland of severed heads, and he stands in pratyalidha trampling naked humans, fierce animals, and angry birds, with Brahmanical deities lying prone on a lotus pedestal resting on mountainous landscape and an aureole of flames behind representing pristine awareness.
Ekavira Vajrabhairava – Tibet – Artworks-Items – Carlton Rochell
Vajradhara above is flanked by Yama and Nairatmya, multi-armed forms of Krishna Yamari astride buffalo, and a lineage of Indian adepts and Tibetan Sakya-order hierarchs. Mounted Brahmanical dikpala guardians appear below, including Indra on his elephant to the right, four-armed Agni on a ram beneath, Ishana on a black bull, blue Yama holding a skull staff and riding a buffalo, Bhudevi on her black sow, blue Nirrti on a naked dark-skinned zombie, Brahma on a goose, Varuna holding the serpent, Vayu on a gazelle, and Yaksha on a horse.
David Jackson has identified the final teacher depicted in the Sakya lineage surrounding Vajrabhairava as the 13th abbot of Ngor monastery, Drangti Panchen Namkha Pelzang (1535—1602),[1] thus suggesting a Ngor-monastery provenance for the painting and a date of around 1600. The red-painted border with gold floral design is typical of Sakya-order thangkas from this period, such as a circa-1600 Kurukulla in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.[2]
[1] Jackson, op. cit.
[2] Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, p. 259, pl. 171
Northeastern India, Bihar
Pala Dynasty, 9th century
Copper alloy with silver inlay
Height: 7 in. (18 cm)
Provenance:
Leonidas Goulandris Collection, Switzerland
Carlton Rochell Asian Art, New York
American Private Collection, acquired in 2013
Published:
Ulrich von Schroeder, Indo-Tibetan Bronzes, Hong Kong, 1981, pp. 252-253, no. 54E
Jeff Watt & Walter Arader, Embodying Enlightenment: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas, 2015, p. 6, no. 3
Exhibited:
“Embodying Enlightenment: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas,” McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, September 11, 2015-January 3, 2016
The Sadhanamala contains three descriptions of an ascetic form of Manjushri identified as Siddhaikavira with the right hand displaying varada mudra and the left hand holding a blue lily (utpala), now missing on the present sculpture. Siddhaikavira is a white form of the bodhisattva Manjushri, the Buddhist deity of wisdom, intelligence, and enlightenment. The name Siddhaikavira translates to “Solitary Hero” or “Accomplished Hero,” and he is often depicted in the ascetic manner as indicated by the long strands of hair falling over the shoulders and the necklace adorned with claws.
He sits in the royal ease posture (lalitasana) with the right leg pendent on a double lotus throne. The molded rectangular base is supported on four legs with scrollwork. Siddhaikavira is wearing a dhoti decorated with bands of stylized foliage, double beaded belt with central clasp, upavita trailing down his torso, diagonal sash, armlets with festooned decoration, necklace with spherical jewels and tiger’s claws, hoop earrings, and tripartite crown. His face radiates a benign countenance, with slightly-smiling copper-inlaid lips, heavy-lidded eyes and urna inlaid with silver, and finely-incised arched eyebrows. The separately-cast aureole now missing.
Tibet
15th century
Distemper on cloth
36 1/4 by 28 3/8 in. (92 by 72 cm.)
Provenance:
Collection of Richard R. and Magdalena Ernst
The Buddha of Infinite Light, Amitabha, is accompanied by bodhisattvas Avalokiteshvara and Mahasthamaprapta—sometimes known as the Western Trinity—in this animated portrayal of Sukhavati, the Blissful Western Pure Land of Amitabha.[1] The Buddha is seated on a peacock throne holding a begging bowl with a chakra wheel resting on top, an elaborate foliate canopy above, with Buddhas, monks, and adepts throughout, a temple in each corner, and a foliate border beneath and at either side.
Compare the style and composition of a painting in the Shelley and Donald Rubin Collection published by Marylin Rhie and Robert Thurman, including the foliage throughout representing the cosmic tree that supports the Pure Land and a similar distribution of temple complexes that the authors speculate are the abodes of the Tibetan Dharma Kings.[2] Rhie and Thurman date the Rubin example to the second half of the fourteenth or early fifteenth century and identify it as one of the earliest examples of the Sukhavati theme in Tibetan thangka painting. The present example is amongst the finest of these early depictions of the Sukhavati Pure Land Paradise, into which devotees aspire to be reborn through their faith in Buddha Amitabha.
[1] The triumvirate of Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta is a key feature of Mahayana Buddhist Sukhavati iconography, see Jeff Watt, https://www.himalayanart.org/search/set.cfm?setID=7200
[2] Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, Expanded Edition, New York, 1996, p. 470, cat. no. 225
India, Gangetic Valley Region
Circa 1500-1000 B.C.E.
Copper
Height: 8 7/8 in. (22.5 cm); width 12 1/16 in. (30.6 cm)
Provenance:
David Tremayne Ltd., London
The Kronos Collections, acquired in the early 1980s
Published:
Martin Lerner, The Flame and the Lotus, Indian and Southeast Asian Art from The Kronos Collections, Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalogue, New York, 1984, no. 1
This enigmatic object is cast and hammered from a flat piece of copper into a representation of a male figure. It is related to anthropomorphic forms founds with the Copper Hoards at Indian archaeological sites, primarily in the Gangetic Basin, Orissa, and Madhya Pradesh. Such distinctive anthropomorphic forms have not been unearthed outside of India, even though other artifacts of copper or clay excavated with such pieces do seem related to implements and objects that belonged to contemporary cultures of the Indus Valley region and western Asia.
These objects have in common their shape: a flat abstract form, with a semicircular protuberance at one end representing the “head,” two outstretched “arms” with “forearms” curving inward, and two outspread “legs.” Because their silhouettes resemble frontal human forms, the cast objects have been called anthropomorphs.
For an informative discussion about these enigmatic figures, see The Guennol Collection, Vol. II, New York, 1982, pp. 55-58, by Dr. Amy G. Poster; also compare two similar figures at The Metropolitan Museum of Art formerly in the Eilenberg Collection (acc. 2000.284.37 and 2001.433.5) and one at Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts (acc. 880). A slightly smaller example was sold at Christie’s, New York, March 20, 2019, as lot 651; also compare Sotheby’s, New York, March 21, 2024, lot 801, from the Guennol Collection.
This vibrant mandala represents an unusual four-armed aspect of Vajrapani, identified by the vajra he wields in his upper right hand. Encircled by stylized lotus petals, the ferocious tantric deity stands menacingly upon a makara at the center of the composition. His midnight-blue skin, richly covered in gold jewelry, is highlighted against the vibrant red background of the central section. Wrapped around the god’s bulging waist, a striped tiger skin acts as a short dhoti, and around his shoulders a white serpentine scarf forms a striking collar-like arc. Each of Vajrapani’s three faces bears an expression of belligerence, particularly evident in the expressive features of the primary countenance. With sharp fangs exposed, he ejects writhing snakes from his open mouth, and his three eyes bulge in anger. Further attesting to the deity’s wrathful nature, additional serpents are woven through his fiery orange hair.
Iconographically, this form of Vajrapani is a curious composite derived from both Bhutadamara Vajrapani and Mahacakra Vajrapani. Although Bhutadamara Vajrapani holds his two primary arms in tarjani mudra and the vajra in his upper right hand, as does the central deity of this mandala, he is known to bear a lasso in his upper left hand instead of the ghanta seen here, and he has only a single head. It is Mahacakra Vajrapani who has three faces and holds the vajra and bell, similar to the present deity, yet he is characterized by six arms. The snakes dangling from the gaping mouth and the lunging position, alidha asana, are typical of both Mahacakra and Bhutadamara Vajrapani.
The lineage of spiritual transmission stemming from the central Buddha, and including numerous lamas and monks as well as the goddess-dakini Simhavaktra, depicted in the upper register contextualizes the mandala. The four corners are inhabited by a series of deities; two aspects of Hevajra reside in the upper quadrants, a yab-yum Amitayus is placed in the lower left corner, and Samvara sits in the lower right. The lineage of protective deities in the lower register, left to right, starts with the lama performing the consecration followed by: the ritual offerings; Jambhala as lord of wealth; a form of Vaisravana as warrior in armor and guardian of the north; Mahakala, in unusual aspect of Vairocana–Vagisvara with eight arms and three faces, holding the wheel of dharma in his upper right hand and a sword in his upper left hand; Manjusri; Avalokitesvara Sadaksari; Vajrapani; Acala; and Green Tara.
On the reverse, the inscriptions are in vertical alignment for OM AH HUM in very ornate and elegant lantsa alphabet (ornamental Indic script for writing Sanskrit mantra syllables). At the center, in the shape of a stupa, are dedication prayers in Tibetan script. These mantra syllables are dedicated to the Buddha of Omniscience, Sarvavid Vairocana. In addition, there are the Ye dharma verse of the origination of all phenomena and the Forbearance creed, which is the closing verse of the Disciplinary code (Vinaya) of Buddhist monks.
October 4 – 7, 2024 VIP Preview: Thursday October 3 (by invitation only) Booth A6/A10 Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center
We will again join forces this year with Rossi & Rossi to present Masterworks from the Himalayas, an exhibition of over 30 sculptures, paintings, and ritual objects from Tibet, Nepal, and India drawn from private collections in Asia, Europe, and the United States, many of which have not been available to collectors in decades. Several of the pieces have been included in major museum exhibitions and published in important books and articles on Asian art.
Fine Art Asia is recognized by the international art world as Asia’s leading fine art fair. On show are museum-quality art works spanning over 5,000 years of cultural history, from ancient Chinese bronzes through to contemporary art. Since its inception in 2006, Fine Art Asia has attracted an increasing number of renowned international galleries. The fair coincides with major fine art auctions held in the same venue and attracts a high-profile, sophisticated audience of dealers, collectors, curators, connoisseurs, and art lovers from all over the world.
We look forward to welcoming you to our booth in Hong Kong soon!
October 9 – 13, 2024 Stand D-5 Regent’s Park, London
We are pleased to participate in this year’s Frieze Masters from October 9-13. Frieze Masters offers a unique contemporary perspective on thousands of years of art history, from collectible objects to significant masterpieces from the ancient era and Old Masters to the late 20th century.
With 130 galleries from 26 countries, Frieze Masters 2024 is led by Nathan Clements-Gillespie and sees a reimagined, artist-centred approach, including an expanded Studiosection and a redefined floor plan to encourage creative connections across art history. The fair’s new Creative Advisor, Sheena Wagstaff, said: ‘Our new curatorial direction acknowledges how artists visit Frieze Masters to satisfy their curiosity, rejuvenate their thinking and see how the work of their artist peers reflects the creative values of the past.’
The fair takes place in The Regent’s Park in the heart of London, in an elegant, contemporary environment designed by renowned architect Annabelle Selldorf.
We look forward to welcoming you to our booth in London as well!
To coincide with Mandalas: Mapping the Buddhist Art of Tibet at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, we are pleased to present a selection of important Tibetan paintings from the 13th to the 19th century.
Carlton Rochell established his gallery in New York in 2002 after a distinguished career at Sotheby’s. He has remained focused on the art of India, the Himalayas, and Southeast Asia and has staged many important exhibitions since opening his gallery. Holland Cotter of the New York Times in his review of the inaugural exhibition in 2002 wrote: “The arrival of a new, open-to-the public gallery devoted to Indian and Southeast Asian art is an event for the city; such showcases are few and far between.”
Carlton Rochell established the first full-time auctions in North America devoted to Indian and Southeast Asian in 1985, and he has handled many important objects from distinguished collections including: the Pan-Asian Collection, the Heeramaneck Collection, Carter Burden, Laurance Rockefeller, William S. Paley, the Ehrenfeld Collection, the Estate of William H. Wolff, the Estate of Richard B. Gump, and many others.
Since the establishment of Carlton Rochell Asian Art, the gallery has placed works of art privately with many important private collectors in the United States, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, as well as to institutions such as: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Dallas Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Rubin Museum of Art, Ackland Art Museum, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, Museum Rietberg, Zurich, The David Collection, Copenhagen, and the Zhiguan Museum of Fine Art, Beijing.
Carlton Rochell has also exhibited in international art fairs such as Asia Week New York, Frieze Masters in London, Fine Art Asia in Hong Kong, The Winter Show in New York, and TEFAF Maastricht.
The gallery purchases art as well as accepting works on consignment and is pleased to offer advisory services to collectors. We also provide appraisal services for Fair Market, Insurance, and Charitable Gift purposes.
