A THANGKA DEPICTING FOUR KAGYU MASTERS TIBET, CIRCA 1225 |

dressed in monks’ patchwork robes with heavy cloaks, seated in debate on lion and elephant thrones draped with patterned textiles, with ritual objects placed on the throne between them including crossed fly whisks beneath a bound manuscript and a stupa, Vajrasattva above flanked by two mahasiddha, and an Indian pandita flanked by two Tibetan adepts in the centre Himalayan Art Resources item no. 19826.

“Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure”, The Art Institute of Chicago, 5 April-17 August 2003; and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, D.C., 18 October 2003-11 January 2004.

Amy Heller, Tibetan Art: Tracing the Development of Spritual Ideals and Art in Tibet, Milan, 1999, cat. no. 55 Richard R. Ernst, “Arts and Sciences: A Personal Perspective of Tibetan Painting”, 2001, Chimia 55: pp. 900-914.

Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, cat. no.128

David Jackson, Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet, New York, 2011, p. 148, fig. 5.13

Stain running from right side knee of upper right figure down the border of the painting to the lower legs, hands and feet of lower right figure and the throne of the lower right figure. Losses to the gold decoration of the robes on all four figures. Considerable loss to the green cushions behind each figure and black line decoration. Wear and losses to the skin tones throughout. Pinhole on the foot of upper shoulder of lower right figure. A crease and associated losses of halo of lower right figure and pinholes surrounding the picture from cloth mount now missing. In good and mostly original condition for the period.
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No other early Tibetan painting has come to light that depicts two masters and their disciples in this format. Instantly recognisable is Phagmotrupa (1110-1070) in the upper right of the thangka, with his idiosyncratic beard and moustache. The older guru with grey hair to his left is likely to be Phagmotrupa’s teacher Gampopa (1079-1153). David Jackson has identified the lineage depicted in the painting as Dakpo Kagyu, with the Indian mahasiddha Tilopa (late tenth-early eleventh century) and Naropa (956-1040) to the left and right of Vajrasattva above, see David P. Jackson, Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet, New York, 2011, p. 146. Atisha (982-1054), wearing the yellow pandita cap with long lappets, sits with hands in dharmachakra mudra in the centre of the painting, flanked by Marpa (1012-1096) to the left and Milarepa (1040-1123) to the right.

The lamas seated in the lower register have not been firmly identified but may represent subsequent masters in the Dakpo Kagyu tradition, with the grey-haired lama on the left as teacher of the youthful disciple on the right. Jeff Watt has tentatively identified the two masters as Gangpa Rinchen Ozer (1175-1249) and Kuyalwa Rinchen Gonpo (1191-1236), see Himalayan Art Resoucres item no. 19826.

Jackson notes that Atisha is probably represented as lineal guru rather than a teacher of anyone portrayed in the painting, and that Gampopa was the first Tibetan monastic in the Dakpo Kagyu tradition to combine the lineages of Atisha and Milarepa, Jackson, op. cit. The thangka is painted in the style commonly seen in thirteenth century Tibetan works, such as a Phagmotrupa and Disciple in a private collection, with forward facing lions and elephants between the pillars of the throne bases, a device derived from eastern Indian Pala period traditions, and the stylised rockwork beneath, ibid, p. 147.

A thirteenth century date is confirmed by Carbon14 analysis which dates the work to 1229 +/- 61 years, ibid, p. 146.