A MONUMENTAL WALL THANGKA OF TSONGKAPATibet, 18th-19th century. Distemper and gilt on cloth. Seated at the center in dhyanasana on a lotus base in monastic robes, his hands in dharmachakra mudra holding lotus stems supporting a sword and book, the face with serene expression surmounted by a pointed cap and backed by a mandorla, with three deities in the upper register, and two bodhisattvas and worpers below, amid a mountainous landscape with scrolling clouds.Provenance: Collected by the present owner’s father in Tibet before 1970 and thence by descent.Condition: Extensive wear, creasing, soiling, losses, small tears, and loose threads.Dimensions: Size ca. 129 x 164 cmJe Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is the founder of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism, the “newest” of the extant schools. Tsongkhapa studied the traditions of the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyü, and particularly Kadam lineages, and codified certain principles of all of them in the Gelug tradition. Today, the order is the most popularly followed in Tibet, with its head, the Dalai Lama, seen as the spiritual leader of the country. The Gelug tradition is also known as the “Yellow Hat Sect,” for the color of their pointed caps, and Tsongkhapa can often be identified by the hat as well as the sword and manuscript which sit in lotus blossoms at his shoulders.A Thangka Wall, in Tibetan religious architecture, is a stone-built structure used for hanging a giant or monumental thangka (such as the present lot) in some of the major Buddhist monasteries of Tibet. These giant thangkas are called gos ku, goku, gheku, or kiku (cloth image) in Tibetan. The Thangka Wall stands on a hillside from where it typically overlooks the monastic settlement. Its form is that of a narrow, tall, and rectangular building with a battered façade and a flat roof surrounded by a parapet. A silk brocade fitting is normally used to mount a thangka onto the Thangka Wall.Auction resultparison:Type: RelatedAuction: Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 16 October 2021, lot 481Price: EUR 8,848 or approx.EUR 10,000 adjusted for inflation at the time of writingDescription: A monumental wall thangka of Manjushri, 19th centuryExpert remark: Note the size (320 x 240 cm)13% VAT will be added to the hammer price additional to the buyer’s – only for buyers within the EU.大型宗喀巴唐卡西藏，十八至十九世紀，布面膠彩描金。上師跏跌坐於蓮台寶座之上，穩坐畫面中央，雙手當胸結說法印，左右肩花上置經書和寶劍。上師面容慈祥，身後有光背。四周仙人環繞。上有三神，下二菩薩及供奉者，山巒起伏，雲霧繚繞。