A THANGKA OF THE SECOND PANCHEN LAMA, LOBZANG YESHE


TIBET, 18TH CENTURY Distemper on cloth; recto with gold Tibetan inscriptions identifying figures; verso consecrated with a red hand print in the center.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61888 27 1/2 x 18 1/4 in. (69.8 x 46.3 cm)
|西藏 十八世紀 二世班禪喇嘛洛桑益西唐卡 This well-executed painting is a single, complete composition rather than being part of a thangka set. It depicts the Panchen Lama incarnation lineage of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. Its central figure is the Second Panchen Lama Lobzang Yeshe (1663-1737), also recognized as the Fifth Panchen Lama according to the Tashilhunpo system. He is joined by the First (or Fourth) Panchen Lama Lobzang Chokyi Gyeltsen (1570-1662) above. The present example compares favorably to another painting of the Second Panchen Lama in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (F1905.70; HAR 69608). It echoes the present thangka's treatment of the blue brocaded throne, the landscape, and the Panchen Lama's voluminous meditation cloak. The Freer thangka, however, survives in a lesser condition. Provenance Private New York Collection by 1990s