Footnotes

A PAIR OF CHITIPATI RITUAL DANCE COSTUMES WITH WHITE METAL AND SILVER MASKS AND SILK EMBROIDERED GARMENTS AND BOOTS 
Mongolia, 19th century 

蒙古 十九世紀 緞繡屍陀林主舞服及靴子配金屬嵌銀面具兩套

Cham dances, performed at monasteries in Tibet for lay audiences, re-enacted dramatic stories such as the arrival of Tantric Buddhism in Tibet from India and the defeat of demonic forces by mahasiddhas (tantric masters). In the 17th century the Fifth Dalai Lama (known as "The Great Fifth") made Cham a regular public ritual, extolling its power to generate merit for all those watching and, above all, to expel negative hinderances. By the 20th century, Cham was being performed across all major Himalayan monasteries, including those in Tibet, Ladakh, Sikkim, Bhutan, and Mongolia. During Cham performances, qualified monks transform themselves into tantric deities, mythical beings, and historical figures with the aid of such terrific masks and garments.

The present lot comprises a superlative pair of Cham costumes representing the Chitipati, a divine skeletal couple known as the "lord and lady of the charnel ground". The Chitipati are protector deities associated with the Chakrasamvara Tantra. They are believed to have been former Buddhist ascetics who were harmed by thieves and other enemies of the Dharma, whom they now vow to destroy. The Chitipati are a beloved subject in Tibetan Buddhist art, depicted as a harmonious couple dancing with limbs intertwined, such as in a 15th-century thangka in the Rubin Museum of Art (F1996.16.5, Fig.1). As they symbolize a benign acknowledgement of death, their Cham dance guides audiences to reflect on Buddhist teachings of impermanence and to recognize the liberation that comes after its acceptance.

Because these costumes were considered to be potent aids in transforming one's consciousness (and very being) for the performance, great care and attention was taken in their creation, and they were often carefully stored in special protector chapels before and after each ceremony. The present skeleton masks are finely modeled, painted, and further decorated with colorful beaded chains of semi-precious stones. The victory-banner finials are not commonly seen in Chitipati masks made in Tibet and suggest a Mongol origin. (Compare to a related papier maché mask from Mongolia published in Henss, Buddhist Ritual Art of Tibet, 2020. p. 427, fig. 588.) The costume's garments are made of fine silks with exquisitely embroidered and appliquéd patterns, including refined two silk appliquéd aprons created by sewing patches of fabrics in different shapes and colors together to achieve a complex pattern. A similar caped dance robe with a Mahakala apron is preserved at the Museum der Kulturen, Basel (W.lld14197.R0116; HAR 3314197), and a closely related Mahakala apron is in the Fine Arts Museum, Ulaanbaatar (3079-828).

Exhibited:
Remember That You Will Die, Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 19 March - 9 August, 2010.

Provenance:
Ashencaen and Leonov, London, 2000s