A THANGKA OF RED TARA


EASTERN TIBET, PALPUNG, 18TH CENTURYDistemper on cloth; verso with Tibetan inscription, translated: By the blessings and strength of the Goddess of Power, the three realms animate and inanimate, fulfilling the wishes to possess power; may the four activities spontaneously arise. Himalayan Art Resources item no.8077 Image: 16 1/8 x 10 3/4 in. (41 x 27.2 cm);With silks: 26 3/4 x 14 1/4 in. (68 x 36.3 cm)
|藏東 八蚌風格 十八世紀 紅度母唐卡 As suggested by this painting's inscription, Red Tara is invoked for the purposes of increasing power. At the center of this restrained composition, the artist has delicately painted her seated on a lotus throne and before an aureole of pastel pink and blue. With skillful washes the artist transitions between the landscape's verdant hills, lake, clouds, and sky. At the center of the sky, Katog Tsewang Norbu (1698–1755) appears, a famous Kagyu lama in 18th-century Eastern Tibet. Arising out of the lake near the bottom center, a naga serpent makes offerings to Red Tara.The style and palette of this painting draw inspiration from Eastern Tibet and its proximity to China, borrowing Chinese painting conventions. Palpung Monastery in Eastern Tibet is credited with popularizing this style, continuing the innovative artistic vision of Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1700–74). Compare a closely related thangka of Red Tara in the Hahn Cultural Foundation, (HAR 93868), and further examples in private collections (HAR 1801 & 127), and sold at Bonhams, New York, 16 March 2015, lot 38. Published Rossi & Rossi Ltd, Beyond Lhasa: Sculpture and Painting from East and West Tibet, London, 2002, fig.20. Jeff Watt, Tibetan Thangkas: Buddhist Paintings from the 17th to the 19th Century, Rossi & Rossi Ltd, Hong Kong, 2018, pp.46–9.