A THANGKA OF MAITREYA


TIBET, 18TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no.61950 Image: 30 1/4 x 19 1/8 in. (77 x 48.5 cm);With silks: 56 1/2 x 30 1/4 in. (143.5 x 77 cm)
|西藏 十八世紀 彌勒菩薩唐卡 In this vibrant yet delicate composition, Maitreya is shown approaching Tushita Heaven, represented by the central disc containing a golden-roofed palace set on a visvajra. In the colorful floating clouds above, the Thirty-five Buddhas of the Sutra of Confession appear in four groups behind Avalokiteshvara Shadakshari. Numerous floating rainbow pearls emerge before Maitreya and a Kagyu hierarch. Above the hierarch, Chakrasamvara, Vajradhara, and small mandalas are contained within rainbow ringed discs. Below the deities, earthly palaces are erected in a verdant landscape, wherein a student knees in front of his guru. The powerful presence of two wrathful deities protect the paradisiacal peaceful scene above. Lion-faced Simhavaktra snarls amidst flaming clouds on the right. On the other side, Guru Dragpur projects a dark band of fire to destroy demon figures. Guru Dragpur is a meditational form of Padmasambhava manifesting as a protector deity of the Drukpa Kagyu order. Guru Dragpur was discovered as a Revealed Treasure Teaching (terma) by Drugchen Padma Karpo (1527-1592). He is also depicted in a Shabdrung Ngagwang Namgyal thangka sold at Bonhams, New York, 13 March 2017, lot 3040.