TANGKA REPRÉSENTANT VAJRADHARA ET LES QUATRE-VINGT-QUATRE MAHASIDDHAS TIBET, XVIE SIÈCLE Distemper on cloth; verso with an ink drawing of a stupa and a Tibetan, 'om, ah, hum' incantation behind the central figure. Himalayan Art Resources item no. 89904 Image: 76 x 59.5 cm (29 7/8 x 23 3/8 in.); With silks: 117 x 75 cm (46 x 29 1/2 in.) Footnotes: A THANGKA OF VAJRADHARA AND THE EIGHTY-FOUR MAHASIDDHAS TIBET, 16TH CENTURY 西藏 十六世紀 金剛總持與八十四大成就者唐卡 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970's The thangka depicts the Primordial Buddha, Vajradhara, seated on an elaborate throne defended by roaring snow lions and surrounded by registers of individualized portraits of the Eighty-Four Mahasiddhas. The linear arrangement of these canonical Tantric masters, the bold, opaque aureoles behind most, and the overall predominance of red betray a Newari style of painting adopted throughout Tibet up to and including the 16th century (c.f. Jackson, The Nepalese Legacy in Tibetan Painting, 2010, p. XX, fig. 0.3). Meanwhile, the inclusion of mountains and rivers staging a few mahasiddhas speaks to the Tibetan thangka painter's growing affinity with the Chinese landscape painting tradition. For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com