A FINE AND RARE PAINTING ON CLOTH DEPICTING THE SARVAVID VAIROCHANA MANDALA, TIBET, 15TH CENTURY
The central palace houses a crowned Sarvavid Vairochana, white-skinned with four faces, seated in dhyanasana, surrounded by Buddhas, bodhisattvas, lamas, and wrathful deities, with four stupas for each cardinal direction decorated with auspicious objects, encircled by bands of lotus petals and multi-colored flames framing tantric and wrathful deities. Distemper on cloth.


Provenance:
From a noted private collection on the West Coast of the United States.

Condition:
Good condition, commensurate with age, with expected old wear, minor creasing, some soiling and discoloration, minor fraying and losses, minute touchups. A horizontal section of 4 cm height has been reattached at the very top long time ago, the ancient stitching is still visible on the back. Five small cloth patches to edges at the back, possibly covering small tears, also applied a very long time ago. Displaying remarkably well, especially given its age of more than half a millennium.

Dimensions: 50.8 cm x 40 cm


Four triangular registers
are surrounding the circular bands to depict religious scenes, including hell and an escaping Palden Lhamo. The uppermost register centers around Buddha seated in dhyanasana with the right hand lowered in bhumisparsha mudra, flanked by two bodhisattvas followed by two rows of monks. Dharmapala stands fiercely posed in the lowest register, while two monks likely depicting the paintings commissioner sit in dialogue with each other in the bottom right corner.


A mandala is an aid for meditation
, with the main object of veneration in the center. In an initiation ritual, the meditator slowly approaches the center and transforms his or her body and mind into that of the deity. Along the way, the meditator encounters various scenes of religious and historic significance, which aid in his or her meditational journey.


All painted mandalas are a blueprint of a three-dimensional reality.
They are not only meant to show the outer cosmic and inner psychic universe but also reveal the path to an exalted state, to the inherent Buddhahood that slumbers within every being, waiting to be discovered and awakened. The ultimate essence or unifying principle represented in the form of the central deity symbolizes this perfect world.


This complex mandala illustrates the structure of our world
, outer and inner, including the five directions, five elements (space, water, earth, fire, air), five aggregates (matter, sensation, perception, volition, consciousness), five inner negativities (ignorance, anger, pride, desire, and jealousy) and their opposites, the five wisdoms of an enlightened mind. The central palace is divided subtly into four colors, visible within the spiral decorations in the background. These colors follow the symbolism outlined in the yoga tantras, with blue in the east, yellow (faded to orange) in the south, red in the west, and green in the north.


Along the outskirts of the palace are depiction
s of hell
, the escaping Palden Lhamo, and two scenes that are more ambiguous. The depiction of hell can be clearly identified in one scene as several demons boil while others are impaled or strung up. The escaping Palden Lhamo, a dark figure whose face is obscured by wear, is crowned and rides between three soldiers with shields. The last two scenes depict a monastery, a peculiar set of heads at its doorstep, and a procession. Each of these four registers is painted with a central medallion between the scenes enclosing figures of Buddhas and bodhisattvas.


Literature comparison:

Compare a related Sarvavid Vairochana mandala, dated to the 17th century, approximately 120 cm x 100 cm, in the Thangka and Mandala collection of the Rubin Museum of Art, object number C2006.66.346.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Bonham’s New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3014
Price: USD 75,000 or approx.
EUR 83,500
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Raktayamari mandala, Tibet, 15th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related palatial structure, style of painting with similar predominant use of red, and the similar placement of the registers. Note the similar size (53 x 43.5 cm).


Auction result comparison:

Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 21 September 2007, lot 36
Price: USD 241,000 or approx.
EUR 321,000
converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A fine and rare painting on cloth depicting the mandala of Manjuvajra, Tibet, 15th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related palatial structure, style of painting with similar predominant use of red, and the similar placement of the registers.




西藏十五世紀毘盧遮那佛壇城圖


布面膠畫。中殿供奉毘盧遮那佛，白身，四面，結跏趺坐，周圍環繞著佛、菩薩、喇嘛、憤怒本尊，各有四座佛塔，飾有吉祥物，周圍環繞蓮瓣以及密宗和憤怒本尊的五彩火焰。


來源：
來自美國西海岸的知名私人收藏。

品相：
狀況良好，有磨損、輕微摺痕、一些污垢和變色、邊緣磨損和小缺損、細微小修。最上面早已重新貼上了4厘米高的橫段，背面仍可見舊縫線。 背面邊緣有五個小布塊，可能是用來遮蓋小撕裂的，也是很久以前貼的。

尺寸：50.8 x 40 厘米


最上面的界面以佛陀為中心
，以禪坐姿勢，右手垂下地印，兩側是兩位菩薩，後面跟著兩排僧侶。 護法神站在最低界面，擺出兇猛的姿勢，而右下角的兩位僧侶如在對話。


曼荼羅原本是應瑜伽修行需要所建造的一個小土台
，後來也用繪圖方式製作，屬於佛教藝術中變相的一種。這個傳統被密宗吸收，形成許多不同形式的曼荼羅。它是密教傳統的修持能量的中心。依照曼荼羅的各種含意，它就是各個宗教，為了描述或代表其宗教的宇宙模型，或顯現其宗教所見之宇宙的真實，所做的「萬象森列，圓融有序的佈置」，用以表達宇宙真實「萬象森列，融通內攝的禪圓」。


這個複雜的壇城說明了我們世界的結構
，包括外在和內在，包括五個方向、五種元素（空、水、地、火、風）、五蘊（色、受、想、行、識）、五種內在消極性（無明、嗔恚、傲慢、貪欲、嫉妒）及其對立面，即開悟心的五種智慧。 中央宮殿巧妙地分為四種顏色，東方為藍色，南方為黃色（褪成橙色），西方為紅色，北方為綠色。


宮殿的外圍描繪了地獄與吉祥天母
。在一個場景中，可以清楚地看到對地獄的描繪，幾個惡魔在沸騰，而另一些則被刺穿或吊死。逃跑的巴登拉姆是一個深色人物，他的臉因磨損而變得模糊，他戴著王冠，在三名手持盾牌的士兵之間。 最後兩個場景描繪了一座寺院。


文獻比較:

比較一件相近的十七世紀毘盧遮那佛壇城圖，約120 厘米 x 100 厘米，收藏於Thangka and Mandala collection of the Rubin Museum of Art，館藏編號C2006.66.346。


拍賣比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約邦翰斯，2018年3月19日，lot 3014
價格：USD 75,000（相當今日
EUR 83,500
）
描述：西藏十五世紀紅閻摩敵壇城
專家註釋：比較非常相近的壇城結構，以紅色為主的繪畫風格，以及相似的佈局。請注意相似的尺寸 (53 x 43.5 厘米)。


拍賣比較：

形制：非常相近
拍賣：紐約蘇富比，2007年9月21日，lot
價格：USD 241,000（相當今日
EUR 321,000
）
描述：十五世紀西藏文殊金剛壇城
專家註釋：比較非常相近的壇城結構，以紅色為主的繪畫風格，以及相似的佈局。