A THANGKA OF USHNISHA SITATAPATRA, TIBET, 18TH-19TH CENTURY
The thousand-headed Goddess of the Victorious White Parasol stands atop a myriad of prostrate figures divided by a heavenly structure guarded by snow lions on a lotus base, holding a Dharma wheel in her main right hand, her thousand arms radiating around her, backed by a flaming mandorla, the white parasol floating above her, flanked in the upper register by a six-armed bodhisattva and a blue Mahakala, and in the lower register by Green and White Tara above two wrathful deities, all in a verdant landscape with green hills and thick swirling clouds.


Provenance:
French trade. By repute acquired from an old private estate in the Rhone valley.

Condition:
Good condition with minor wear, light soiling and staining, small losses and creases to picture, and light staining. Possibly microscopic touchups.

Dimensions: Image size 65.5 x 48.3 cm, Size incl. frame 79.5 x 61.7 cm

Painted with ink and distemper on cloth, matted and framed.


The white bodhisattva of one thousand heads, arms, and eyes astride at center
is known in Sanskrit as Sitatapatra, or Ushnisha Sitatapatra which can be translated as ‘The victorious white parasol’. It is believed that she is a powerful independent deity emanated by Gautama Buddha from his Ushnisha. In the Mahayana Sitatapatra Sutra, she is called Aparajita (‘Undefeatable, Unconquerable’) and is also identified as a form of goddess Tara, while in other sutras, she is regarded as a female counterpart to Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Her parasol symbolizes her ability to protect sentient beings from natural disasters and diseases. She is white in color because the primary means by which she performs this function is the enlightenment energy of pacification. Like Avalokiteshvara in his elaborate form, Ushnisha Sitatapatra has a thousand eyes that watch over living beings, and a thousand arms that protect and assist them. Her proper-left five hundred legs on the left side suppress a host of worldly deities and animals, while her proper-right five hundred legs suppress a host of worldly plights, demons, and animals.


Auction result comparison:

Type: Related
Auction: Galerie Zacke, Vienna, 27 September 2019, lot 324
Price: EUR 10,112 or approx.
EUR 11,500
adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A Ushnisha Sitatapatra thangka, 18th-19th century
Expert remark: Compare the closely related subject and related manner of painting. Note the related size (59.5 x 42.5 cm).




西藏十八至十九世紀大白傘蓋佛母


布面水墨膠彩，裝幀並裝框。大白傘蓋千首白度母立於蓮花座上，蓮花座上有雪獅護衛，主右手執法輪，千臂環繞，背後火焰光背，大白傘蓋飄浮在她的上方，其上是六臂菩薩和藍色大黑天，下方是綠、白度母，還有兩位憤怒本尊，一切都在青山翠綠的風景中，祥雲環繞。腳下各種人物、動物是受其白傘蓋庇護的眾生。


來源：
法國古玩交易。據説是從羅納河谷的一處古老的私人莊園獲得的。

品相：
狀況良好，有輕微磨損、輕微污漬、缺損、圖片有少量磨損和摺痕，以及輕微污漬。可能有小修。

尺寸：畫面 65.5 x 48.3 厘米，總 79.5 x 61.7 厘米


拍賣結果比較：

形制：相近
拍賣：Galerie Zacke，維也納，2019年9月27日，lot 324
價格：EUR 10,112（相當於今日
EUR 11,500
）
描述：大白傘蓋佛母唐卡
專家評論：比較非常相近的主題和相近的繪畫風格。請注意相近尺寸(59.5 x 42.5 厘米)。