
Mark Rasmussen
International Director
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Sold for US$413,000 inc. premium
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International Director
Chakrasamvara is the principal Tantra text of the Anuttarayoga Wisdom (mother) classification of the Vajrayana Buddhist Tradition. Chakrasamvara is also one of the most popular deities in Tantric Buddhism, the Himalayan regions, and Tibet after the 11th century. His purpose and function in the Buddhist Vajrayana system is as a model for meditation practice employed by Tantric practitioners. There is a vast corpus of literature on the subject of Chakrasamvara. The original source material is written in Sanskrit with hundreds of later commentaries, ritual texts, dance performance instructions, and meditation manuals created in the Tibetan.
Compare with three other mandalas in the Palace Museum, Beijing. The treatment of the cloud forms and protector deities in the lower corners are almost identical: Tangka-Buddhist Painting of Tibet: The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, vol. 59, Hong Kong, 2003, nos 216-220.
Also compare with the treatment of the wealth deity Nele Thökar in the Northern wall mural of the Lukhang chapel, Lhasa, see Luczanits, "Locating Great Perfection", in Orientations p. 106, fig. 3. The treatment of the clouds, floral forms and stylized rock elements are almost identical. Also see a forthcoming publication of the entire Lukhang images by Thomas Laird Murals of Tibet, Taschen, due in 2015.
Published:
HAR #81871 - http://www.himalayanart.org/image.cfm/81871.html