Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

AN ILLUMINATED KALACHAKRA TANTRA TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY image 1
AN ILLUMINATED KALACHAKRA TANTRA TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY image 2
Lot 2

AN ILLUMINATED KALACHAKRA TANTRA
TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY

Amended
24 May 2021, 19:00 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific Place

HK$160,000 - HK$200,000

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

AN ILLUMINATED KALACHAKRA TANTRA

TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY
Opaque watercolor and ink on paper; comprised of 118 folios, with one single-sided colophon and 117 folios with text on both sides and a pair of illustrations on one side.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16997
Folios: 11 x 66 cm (4 1/4 x 26 in.) approx.

Footnotes

西藏 十三/十四世紀 彩繪《時輪金剛密續》

The leaves of this manuscript are designed in an archaistic format that recalls the short and wide palm-leaf sutras of Northeast India, Buddhism's heartland. The illustrations of Tibetan monastic hierarchs and lay nobility are painted in bold colors, embellishing each page without distracting from the lines of fine calligraphy. This style and format predate the emergence of the Gelug school, and therefore the manuscript can be attributed to the 14th century or earlier.

Given that the Kalachakra Tantra is composed of 213 single-sided pages of text in the Dege Kanjur (a key printing of the Tibetan Buddhist canon), it is reasonable to presume that the present iteration, with 117 double-sided text pages, represents a complete version. Included are the title page and frontispiece (both in partial condition), and its colophon at the end, which lists several donors.

The Kalachakra Tantra is a highly influential body of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism, depicting a mythic reality whereby cosmic and socio-historical events correspond to processes in the bodies of individuals. These teachings are meant to lead to a transformation of one's body and mind into perfect Buddhahood through various yogic methods (Sopa et al., The Wheel of Time, Shambhala, 1991, pp.62-77). The famous mythic kingdom of Shambhala is introduced by the Kalachakra Tantra.

Saleroom notices

Please note the lot's colophon identifies several donors, who lived in the 14th century and were associated with Jonang monastery. See the lot's condition report for more information.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

TÊTE DE BODHISATTVA EN STUC Ancienne région du Gandhara, IIIe-Ve siècle

TÊTE DE BOUDDHA EN SCHISTE Ancienne région du Gandhara, IVe siècle

STATUE DE BOUDDHA EN SCHISTE GRIS Ancienne région du Gandhara, II-IIIe siècle

TÊTE DE BOUDDHA EN STUC Ancienne région du Gandhara, IVe-Ve siècle

PANNEAU EN RELIEF EN SCHISTE GRIS REPRÉSENTANT POSSIBLEMENT LA GRANDE RENONCIATION OU L'INTERPRÉTATION DU RÊVE DE MAYA AU ROI SUDDHODANA Ancienne région du Gandhara, IIe-IIIe siècle

STATUETTE DE DIVINITÉ FÉMININE DEBOUT EN TERRE CUITE Inde, Période Maurya-Sunga, IIe-Ier siècle avant J.C.

STÈLE DE FIGURE DEBOUT TENANT UN ARC ET DES FLÈCHES EN GRÈS ROUGE Inde centrale, Madhya Pradesh, Style Khajuraho, XIe siècle

IMPORTANTE STATUE DE DÉESSE EN BRONZE Inde, Tamil Nadu, époque Vijayanagara, XVI siècle

SANCTUAIRE DE SURYA EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE Inde, Bengale, époque Pala, Xe siècle

STÈLE DE VISHNU EN PIERRE NOIRE Inde occidentale, Rajasthan ou Gujarat, ca. XIIe-XIIIe siècle

STÈLE EN PIERRE NOIRE REPRÉSENTANT DURGA TUANT LE DÉMON MAHISHA Bangladesh, XIe-XIIe siècle

STATUETTE DE DURGA MAHISHASURAMARDINI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE AVEC TRACES DE POLYCHROMIE Inde, province d'Assam, XVIIe siècle

POIGNARD EN ACIER DAMASQUINÉ D'OR, KATAR DJAMADHAR Inde, moghole, Rajasthan, XIXe siècle

CLOCHE RITUELLE EN BRONZE Indonésie, Java, XIe siècle

RELIQUAIRE EN BRONZE Thaïlande, Sukhothai, XIVe-XVe siècle

BUSTE DE BOUDDHA COURONNÉ EN TERRE CUITE Thaïlande, Haripunjaya, XIIIe siècle

GRANDE CLOCHE DE TEMPLE EN BRONZE Datée de 1206 de l'ère birmane, ou 1844

ÉPÉE À POIGNÉE EN ARGENT NIELLO, DHA, ET SON FOURREAU Birmanie, XIXe siècle

STUPA EN ARGENT Thaïlande, époque Ayutthaya, XVIIe siècle

TÊTE DE BOUDDHA EN BRONZE Thaïlande, époque Ayutthaya, XVe-XVIe siècle

STATUETTE DE BOUDDHA MARAVIJAYA COURONNÉ EN BRONZE Nord de la Thaïlande, époque Lan Na, XVIe siècle

STATUE DE BOUDHA EN BRONZE DORÉ Thaïlande, Bangkok, XIXe siècle

STATUE DE VISHNU CHEVALANT GARUDA EN BOIS SCULPTÉ Thaïlande, XIXe siècle

STATUETTE DE MANJUSHRI AVEC SHAKTI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ Népal, XVIIe siècle