** A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this artwork will be donated to the Anthony Quinn Foundation, whose mission is to advocate for the important role arts education plays in personal development and in the overall improvement of social, economic and cultural systems. Learn more at aqfoundation.org **

Central Asia, Tibet, 18th century CE. Finely hand-painted with distemper on cloth, a beautiful Tibetan thangka featuring the White Tara Bodhisattva surrounded by Buddhist deities. Known as Sititara or the 'mother of liberation,' the White Tara is the spiritual embodiment of kindness, compassion, and purity. Here, she is presented sitting serenely upon a lotus pedestal in the lotus position, surrounded by a brilliant nimbus, and accompanied by lovely peonies amidst verdant foliage. A mesmerizing thangka from the private collection of legendary actor Anthony Quinn, set in a museum-quality custom gilt frame. Size of sight view: 16.75" L x 11" W (42.5 cm x 27.9 cm) Size of frame: 27.75" L x 20.75" W (70.5 cm x 52.7 cm)

Accompanying the White Tara are other Buddhist deities, including a Heruka threatening a black demon figure with a skull-topped club at the lower left. Herukas are wrathful deities assuming savage phenotypes in order to protect Buddhism from threatening enemies. They function as yidam to protect believers. This Heruka presents traditional attributes of wrathful deities including a headdress with five skeletal death heads (a macabre variant of a crown with five flower petals to indicate the five dhyani buddhas used for more peaceful deities).

According to Buddhist teachings, Tara was born out of the tears of compassion of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who wept as he observed the suffering of worldly beings, his tears formed a lake from which a lotus sprung. When the lotus opened, the goddess Tara was within. In Buddhism, Tara (Sanskrit for star) is a savior goddess. In Tibet, she is the most important deity and her name is Sgrol-ma or Shyamatara (she who saves). She is also popular in Nepal and Mongolia. Tara is the goddess of supreme compassion, said to be stronger than a mother's love for her children. In addition, Tara is said to bring about longevity, protect earthly travel, and guard followers on their spiritual journey to enlightenment.

This thangka was exhibited in "Anthony Quinn: A Lifetime of Creating and Collecting Art" which opened at the Newport Art Museum in April 2005, remained there for 3 months through the end of June, and then travelled to museums around the United States until 2009. It was featured in the section of the exhibition that was entitled, "Global Spiritual Awareness of Past & Present" along with two other thangkas in the Quinn Collection (both listed in today's auction). The accession numbers for the three thangkas were Q2004.219, Q2004.244, and Q2004.245.

Provenance: ex-private collection of actor Anthony Quinn and his wife Katherine, Bristol, Rhode Island, USA acquired prior to 2000; exhibited in the "Anthony Quinn: A Lifetime of Creating and Collecting Art" traveling exhibition from 2006 to 2009

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to recent increases of shipments being seized by Australian & German customs (even for items with pre-UNESCO provenance), we will no longer ship most antiquities and ancient Chinese art to Australia & Germany. For categories of items that are acceptable to ship to Australia or Germany, please contact us directly or work with your local customs brokerage firm.

Display stands not described as included/custom in the item description are for photography purposes only and will not be included with the item upon shipping.

#169140

This thangka has not been examined outside the frame but appears to show normal surface wear and minor pigment loss commensurate with age. The frame has a few minute scuffs/nicks to the lavishly gilded finish but is otherwise intact, fitted with a suspension wire, and ready to display. There is a label on the gallery paper on the verso that reads "Anthony Quinn: A Lifetime of Creating & Collecting Art -31c - "Thangka depicting figure of Tara".