A thangka depicting Buddha, Tibet, circa 16th century

Rezk Collection.

Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Pennsylvania.

Shakyamuni Buddha is depicted seated in vajra posture atop a moon disk resting on a lotus, supported by a throne flanked by two snow lions. He holds a begging bowl in his left hand, while his right is raised in the gesture of protection. Although the Buddha’s iconography is traditionally described as having thirty-two major and eighty minor marks of a Chakravartin, only a few of these characteristics are visually distinguished—the ushnisha on the crown of the head, the urnakesha between the eyes, three curved horizontal lines on the neck, and elongated, pierced earlobes. He is adorned in patchwork robes of red, green, and orange, indicating his status as an ordained individual. Rays of light radiate from his body in green and yellow aureolas. The torana surrounding the Buddha, painted in an Indian style adopted by Tibetan artists in the early 11th century, is composed of mythical and auspicious animals, including lions, elephants, swans, and a garuda, comparable to example HAR 58525. He is flanked by two bodhisattvas, though their identities remain uncertain due to the absence of identifiable hand attributes. Above the torana, Chaturbhuja Lokeshvara appears on the viewer’s left, with Amitabha Buddha positioned on the right.

The composition features numerous smaller images of Shakyamuni, identical in iconography to the central figure, arranged in a repeating pattern. This tradition of painting multiple miniature depictions of a single deity within one composition is the only form of painting that incorporates registers continued to the present day. The repetition of the deity serves to generate greater merit for the donor, whether through the act of producing the images or by making offerings and prostrations before them. This function parallels that of a prayer wheel, which contains thousands of printed mantras, believed to yield the same merit when spun as reciting them aloud. Given the arduous task of painting each Buddha individually, many such compositions were first produced using woodblock prints before being painted, streamlining both production and labor costs, making paintings like these accessible to many. This painting is a great example of religious context (merit and its functions) directly influencing the purpose and methods of Himalayan art production.

Sotheby's would like to thank Shinzo Shiratori for his identification of the iconography and assistance with the cataloguing of this lot.