A NINE-DEITY AMITAYUS MANDALA 


TIBET, CIRCA 16TH CENTURYDistemper on cloth.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61887 35 x 30 in. (89 x 76 cm)
|西藏 約十六世紀 無量壽佛壇城 This skillfully executed thangka depicts a Nine-deity Amitayus mandala, which follows a tantric tradition associated with Mahasiddha Jetari, who lived in India between the 9th and 10th centuries. Nine-deity Amitayus mandalas are centered by a stylized lotus flower, with eight near-identical Amitayus images, each occupying a petal, surrounding a central Amitayus. Other examples are published on Himalayan Art Resources (set 2394). This form of mandala originates from the Arya-aparimitayurjnana-nama-mahayana-sutra, serving to aid the practitioner in achieving complete enlightenment. The upper register is again centered by the long-life deity Amitayus, flanked by lineage teachers including Acharya Garbha, Jetari, Acharya Bodhi Bhadra, Acharya Samadhi Bhadra, Vajrasana (the greater and younger), Bari Lotsawa Rinchen Drag, and Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158). The bottom register portrays the donor family on the left, followed by Vaishravana, Yellow Jambhala, Black Jambhala, Yellow Vasudhara, White Ganapati, Chaturbhuja Mahakala, Shadbhuja Mahakala, Panjarnata Mahakala, Shri Devi, and Yama Dharmaraja. Between the two registers, Tsongkapa, Manjushri, Ushnishavijaya and Maha Pratisara each occupy a blue corner. Mandalas like the present example closely follow Nepalese aesthetics, seen in the architectural arrangement, the rich red and blue palette, and the vegetal scrolls in the background. Its composition compares closely with paintings commissioned at Ngor Monastery during the 15th-16th century, known to have been painted by Newari artists (see a Guhyasamaja Mandala from Ngor Monastery sold at Bonhams, New York, 17 March 2014, lot 18). Compare another closely related Nine-deity Amitayus mandala in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York (P1998.13.5). Provenance Private Florida Collection, acquired in Kathmandu, 1963-65