LARGE THANGKA DEPICTING SIX-ARMED MAHAKALA
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY
£3,250
Fine Asian & Islamic Works of Art
Auction: 6 November 2019 at 12:00 GMT
Description
清 六臂大黑天唐卡
striking in alidhasana and trampling on Vinayaka, symbolising his destruction and dispersal of great obstacles, with two hands holding kartika and kapala bowl to his chest, a skull rosary and damaru drum to his right, a trident and robe to his left, together with the flayed Vinayaka's legs on both top hands, he wears skulls jewellery, and flayed tiger skin aprons, his body flanked with two snakes, a flaming nimbus behind
Dimensions
135cm x 152cm
Footnote
Provenace: Private Manila collection; the present owner's father acquired them in the 1970s
Note: “This very impressive and wonderfully painted Mahakala is extraordinarily vivid and appears to leap from the surface. Certainly painted by a master, one can imagine the story that Tibetan artists can only paint well if they have experienced the deity in the flesh and felt their breath on their faces. This is quite a really fine scroll. This one has an extra elephant skin around him as a shawl.” - viewed by Dr. David Templeman, Monash University of Melbourne, Australia