A rare and important thangka depicting episodes from the life of Ngorpa Rinchen Gyaltsen, Tibet, 18th century | 西藏 十八世紀 薩迦哦派仁欽堅贊生平畫傳唐卡 設色布本

Jeannine Auboyer and Gilles Béguin, Dieux et démons de l'Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque, Paris, 1977, cat. no. 276. David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Traditions, Wein, 1996, p. 303, fig. 160, p. 313, pl. 63.

Amy Heller, Tibetan Art: Tracing the Development of Spritual Ideals and Art in Tibet, Milan, 1999, cat. no 114.

David Jackson, The Place of Provenance: Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting, New York, 2012, p. 107, fig. 5.22.

Himalayan Art Resources item no. 8002.

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Jeannine Auboyer and Gilles Béguin，《喜瑪拉雅之神與魔 : 藏傳佛教藝術 》，巴黎，1977年，編號276

David Jackson，《西藏繪畫史 : 西藏偉大畫家和其傳統》，維也納，1996年，303頁，圖160，313頁，圖版63

Amy Heller，《西藏藝術 : 探索西藏靈性和藝術之發展》，米蘭，1999年，編號114

David Jackson，《來源之處 : 西藏繪畫地方風格》，紐約，2012年，107頁，圖5.22

喜瑪拉雅藝術資源，物件編號8002

“Dieux et démons de l’Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque” Grand Palais, Paris, 25 March-27 June 1977; and Haus der Kunst, Munich, 5 August-16 October 1977.

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《喜瑪拉雅之神與魔 : 藏傳佛教藝術 》，大皇宮，巴黎，1977年3月25日至6月27日；藝術之家，慕尼黑，1977年8月5日至10月16日

This rare and important thangka documents episodes in the life of Ngor Abbot Rinchen Migyur Gyaltsen (b. 1717) relating to his time at Derge in Kham, see Amy Heller, Tibetan Art: Tracing the Development of Spiritual Ideals and Art in Tibet, Milan, 1999, p. 198. The Sakya monastery of Ngor in central Tibet had strong ties with the Eastern kingdom of Derge, where Derge Parkhang, the renowned sutra-printing temple, is located. At the upper left the abbot and two hierarchs instruct, while artists carve printing blocks: five thangka hang on the wall behind. In a large monastery complex to the upper right monks gather at the feet of the master: to the left the master receives tributes of khatta, fine silks, furs, coral and sutras from monks and laity: beneath to the right the eminent Khampa scholar and artist Shuchen Tshultrim Rinchen (1697-1744), supervises the Lhaga brothers and their assistants while painting a set of thangka for Rinchen Gyaltsen depicting the one hundred former lives of Buddha Shakyamuni, as described in the epic poem "The Wish-fulfilling Tree", by the eleventh century Kashmiri master Kshemendra; see David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Painting: The Great Tibetan Painters and Their Traditions, Wien, 1996, p. 303, fig. 160.

More tributes are received in another monastery complex lower left, where monks are seen reading texts and sculpting a statue of Buddha. The master teaches an assembly of monks in a tented encampment to the lower right.

The thangka is of great historical importance in the depiction of artistic production in Derge in the eighteenth century: Jackson speculates that the painting may have been created by the circle of Shuchen Tshultrim Rinchen, and the inscriptions by the master himself, see David Jackson, The Place of Provenance: Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting, New York, 2012, p. 106.

Multiple gold inscriptions cover the current thangka, indicating the scenes presented. Clockwise from upper left, the Tibetan may be translated as follows:

Top left: The monastic household of Luding, a place of upbringing that gave rise to a rosary of sala, the learned ones among whom Sharchen [Migyur Gyaltsen, the 37th abbot of Ngor Monastery] was born; a delightful garden where he encountered innumerable demeanours of bodhisattva, the way of accomplishing the benefit of others.

Right: The way of depicting the splendid hundred and eight Avadana stories was first paved by Tsultrim Rinchen [i.e. Zhuchen Tsultrim Rinchen Gyaltsen (1697–1774)] Lhaga, together with his siblings and disciples, whose finger tips having turned into a dramatic performance [showed] the manner of painting.

Center: The glorious and excellent Rinchen Migyur Gyaltsen [of] Ewam [Monastery], where he is worshipped and bestowed with a sacred printed [edition]; an inspiring material display of the one hundred and eight foliage of words of the Conqueror’s Wish-fulfilling Tree.

Bottom right: Arriving near the guests who participate in the maiden’s lush green summer banquet, (…) the benefactor (…) together with the abundance and wealth of the four excellences (…)

Bottom left: (…) the dharma king, Amdo and Kham (…) paid respect. (…) monastic robe (…) nephew and spouse (…)

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本幅重要罕見的唐卡記錄了俄爾寺住持仁欽堅贊（生於1717年）在康區德格的生活片段，見Amy Heller，《西藏藝術：探索西藏靈性和藝術之發展》，米蘭，1999年，198頁。西藏中部薩迦派俄爾寺與東部德格王國交流緊密，著名的德格印經院即在此地。畫面左上方，寺院內牆面掛著五幅唐卡，住持和兩位長老在前發號指令，另見側旁的藝術家製作印經板。唐卡右上方的主寺院中，僧侶們齊聚一堂，向上師頂禮，聆聽開示；寺院左方下熙來攘往，見僧侶及信徒獻上貢品（khatta），包括高級絲綢、毛皮、珊瑚和經書。右方則是著名的康巴學者和藝術家Shuchen Tshultrim Rinchen（1697-1744）指導學徒，繪製佛祖釋迦牟尼一百個前世，此靈感來自於十一世紀克什米爾詩人克夏猛德拉所著《如意樹》史詩；David Jackson，《西藏繪畫史：西藏偉大畫家和其傳統》，維也納，1996年，303頁，圖160。

唐卡左下方寺院內，描繪著信眾進貢，僧侶或是誦經念佛、或是雕刻佛像之場景。畫布右下方則見導師們於營地帳篷中講經開示。

本幅唐卡提供十八世紀德格藝術製作豐富的資訊，具有重要的歷史意義。Jackson推測，本幅作品應由Shuchen Tshultrim Rinchen徒弟所繪製，而題詞則是由大師本人所著，見David Jackson，《來源之處 : 西藏繪畫地方風格》，紐約，2012年，106頁。