Tangka impérial de Changkya Hutuktu Rolpai Dorje (1717-1786) détrempe sur tissu Chine, dynastie Qing, époque Qianlong (1736-1795)

le précepteur portant l’ample robe monastique et un tablier aux franges multicolores, la coiffe caractéristique jaune de l’ordre des Gelugpa tombant dans son dos, son visage à la moustache et à la barbe noire auréolé d’un halo vert, le maître installé sur des coussins sur un trône drapé de riches étoffes et de l’écharpe blanche auspicieuse khata, des fleurs de lotus roses encadrant son trône orné du khagda et du pustala, une table devant lui couverte d’instruments rituels, objets auspicieux et offrandes, au second plan un paysage de montagnes verdoyantes, devant lui de gauche à droite se trouvent Sri Devi, Mahakala, Vajrabhairava et sa parèdre Vajra Vetali, Yama Dharmaraja et Chamundi parmi les joyaux, lingots d’or et paraphernales tantriques, au-dessus de lui Syama et Tara Sita dans les nuages encadrant trois bouddhas assis entourés du soleil et de la lune, les bords soulignés d’une bordure arc-en-ciel faite de bandes rouge, orange, jaune, verte et bleue

Acquired in Mongolia in the early 1950s.

The thangka is in overall very good condition. There are small areas of loss to the pigments of the rainbow border, particularly along the edges. There are some losses to the cloth to the upper left hand side (ca. 3cm) and along the edges. A ca. 10cm long vertical scratch running parallel and up the lower left hand side of the painting. The colours are vibrant and fresh with fine gold detailing.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This fine and rare imperial painting depicting the preceptor to the Qianlong emperor is one of a small group of works that consistently portray the idiosyncratic physiognomy of this eminent figure. All the paintings in the group show the fine moustache and sparse goatee. Also discernible in this and other portraits is a faint strabismus and drooping lower lid of the left eye, and the slight swelling of his right cheek for which he was known to suffer, compare, for example, a remarkably similar portrait in the Staatliches Museum fuer Völkerkunde in Munich, published in Andreas Lommel, Kunst des Buddhismus, München, 1974, p. 161, pl. 87. Other portraits painted in this distinctive style include two examples in the Yonghegong, Beijing, another example in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, EA1983.26, one in The American Museum of Natural History, 70.3/1590, and another example formerly with the Asian Art Gallery, London, mounted in its original lacquered wood frame and similarly painted with a multi-coloured rainbow border, illustrated in Asian Art Gallery, Chinese Imperial Patronage: Treasures from Temples and Palaces, Vol. II, London, 2005, p. 104.

The painted multi-coloured rainbow border of the present portrait indicates that the work was also designed to be hung in a wooden frame rather than a Tibetan-style mount traditionally made up of strips and panels of multi-coloured textiles. The painted border denotes these textiles that have symbolic meaning in Tibetan Buddhist practise, representing the door into the spiritual world represented within the painting.

Rolpai Dorje was born in Amdo and educated at the court of the Yongzheng emperor where he formed a strong relationship with his fellow student, the future Qianlong emperor. Promoted to state preceptor by the new emperor he became one of the most important and influential figures at the Qianlong court, in both religious and diplomatic affairs. He was recognised as the incarnate Changkya Hutuktu, the Mongolian lineage of Buddhist masters. He presided over complex state Buddhist rituals, revitalised ancient Buddhist traditions and promoted revised teaching systems and Buddhist iconographic programs. He compiled the renowned illustrated pantheon of Three Hundred and Sixty Icons, and was responsible for the translation of important Buddhist texts into Mongolian. Under the auspices of the emperor, Rolpai Dorje was responsible for the prodigious production of almost all Imperial Buddhist works of art seen in the eighteenth century, and is regarded as a visionary character that greatly contributed to the legacy of the Qianlong reign.