TIBETAN SCHOOL

THANGKA OF THE KALACHAKRA MONOGRAM AND CENTRAL STUPA
OPAQUE WATERCOLOUR AND GOLD ON TEXTILE
LATE 19TH/EARLY 20TH CENTURY

A HIGHLY COMPLEX AND ESOTERIC TIBETAN THANGKA CENTRED UPON THE SACRED KALACHAKRA TRADITION, EXECUTED IN OPAQUE WATERCOLOUR AND GOLD ON TEXTILE. DATING TO THE LATE 19TH OR EARLY 20TH CENTURY, THE COMPOSITION COMBINES RITUAL SYMBOLISM, ARCHITECTURAL IMAGERY AND TANTRIC ICONOGRAPHY WITHIN A RICHLY DETAILED COSMOLOGICAL SCHEME.

DOMINATING THE LEFT REGISTER IS THE SACRED NAMCHU WANGDEN (RNAM BCU DBANG LDAN), OR 'TEN-FOLD POWERFUL ONE', REPRESENTED AS AN ORNAMENTAL MONOGRAM IN LANTSA SCRIPT, THE TIBETAN ADAPTATION OF THE INDIAN RANJANA SCRIPT. THE GLYPH INTERWEAVES THE SEVEN SYLLABLES OF THE KALACHAKRA MANTRA - HAM, KSHAH, MA, LA, VA, RA, YA - WITH THE CELESTIAL SYMBOLS OF THE CRESCENT MOON, SUN DISC AND NADA, THE DISSOLVING SYMBOL OF COSMIC SOUND. WITHIN THE VAJRAYANA TRADITION, THIS POWERFUL FORM IS ASSOCIATED WITH PROTECTION AND THE COSMIC PRINCIPLES OF TIME, SPACE AND THE ELEMENTS.

THE COMPOSITION IS ANCHORED BY A CENTRAL WHITE MULTI-TIERED CHORTEN OR STUPA, WITH A SEATED LINEAGE MASTER OR LAMA OCCUPYING ITS CENTRAL NICHE. BENEATH THE STUPA, A PROMINENT WEALTH DEITY, RECALLING A FORM OF JAMBHALA OR A YELLOW PROTECTIVE DEITY, IS SEATED WITHIN A LUMINOUS AUREOLE, FLANKED BY TREES AND OFFERING BOWLS.

THE UPPER REGISTER FEATURES PRIMORDIAL BUDDHAS AND REVERED HISTORICAL LAMAS, SUSPENDED AMID SOFT, SWIRLING CLOUD FORMS AGAINST A DEEP BLUE GROUND. THE RICHLY LAYERED COMPOSITION, ELABORATE ICONOGRAPHY, FINE LINEWORK AND SELECTIVE USE OF GOLD EXEMPLIFY THE DEVOTIONAL AND COSMOLOGICAL COMPLEXITY OF TIBETAN THANGKA PAINTING.