
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$15,000 inc. premium
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International Director
The arhat in the upper left is very likely to be Ajita although he could also be Kanaka Bharadvaja or Chudapantaka. The suggestion of Ajita is based on the grouping of these four elders into one composition and the fact that they are the first four named elders from the group of Sixteen Elders or Arhats. One problem with this suggestion is that Ajita is very often depicted with the head partially covered by his monastic robes. The representation of Amitabha is most often related to the Tantric practice of 'transference' (phowa).
This thangkas belongs to a set of five. Two others are known, one in the Rubin Museum of Art (see HAR#724 - http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/724.html) and the other in Collection of Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art (see HAR#90512 - http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/90512.html).
Published:
HAR #90762 - http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/90762.html
Provenance:
Private Collection, New York