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A SINO-TIBETAN KESI THANGKA OF SHASTRADHARA, THE ‘WEAPON-HOLDING’ HEVAJRA, QING DYNASTY
奥地利
12月16日 晚上6点 开拍 /6天18小时
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Description

A SINO-TIBETAN KESI THANGKA OF SHASTRADHARA, THE ‘WEAPON-HOLDING’ HEVAJRA, QING DYNASTY

China, 19th century or a bit earlier. Finely woven silk, depicting the four-legged deity dancing upon two nude prostrating figures on a multi-colored double-lotus base, Hevajra holding in each of his sixteen radiating hands a kapala containing various animals and nude human figures. The blue-skinned deity clad in a tiger skin secured at the waist with a rope-like hem and richly adorned with beaded festoons resembling human heads, as well as gem-set gold ornaments. Seven of his eight faces are fierce, each with three bulging eyes, broad noses, and gaping mouths revealing white teeth, all surmounted by the head of Buddha Akshobhya

Provenance: From a private collection in Budapest, Hungary.
Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, light creasing, and few loose threads. The frame with old wear and small nicks.

Dimensions: Image size 77.8 x 60.3 cm, size incl. mounting 91.4 x 73.2 cm

Mounted and framed behind a passepartout.

Hevajra appears here in his Shastradhara (‘weapon-holding’) aspect: blue-skinned, eight-faced, sixteen-armed, and four-legged, each hand brandishing a distinct implement within the sixteen kapalas known from the Hevajra-Tantra type. A small Akshobhya at the crown confirms his Vajra-family affiliation. This presentation is described in the Samputa Tantra, with Abhayakaragupta’s Vajravali as the principal ritual source. Tibetan tradition holds that Marpa Chokyi Lodro (1012–1096) especially practiced this Shastradhara form, which circulated in Tibet even before the thirteenth-century adoption of the Vajravali.

This author highly recommends that interested bidders watch a video by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources’ YouTube channel titled ‘Hevajra: Unusual Forms’, published on 21 July 2023. With its single-figure composition and plain vermilion background, the current painting could plausibly have served as a panel within a larger initiation set or as a segment from a monumental wall thangka; however, the clean borders and lack of any truncated or partial elements suggest it was conceived as a self-contained work.

Literature comparison:
Compare a related earlier thangka depicting Shastradhara Hevajra, China, 15th century, illustrated by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 21049.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 771
Price: USD 56,250 or approx. EUR 68,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A thangka of Chaturmukha Mahakala, Tibet, 15th century
Expert remark: Compare the related pose of the figure, standing upon two nude prostrate figures on a lotus base, with its skin similarly colored and analogous expression. Note the smaller size (52 x 47.7 cm) and much earlier dating. Also note that this comparison is for the subject only, the thangka here is painted while the present lot is a woven silk textile.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Zacke Vienna, 16 October 2025, lot 38
Price: EUR 25,740
Description: An extremely rare thangka of Shastradhara (‘weapon-holding’) Hevajra, Tibet, 15th-16th century
Expert remark: Compare the related pose of the figure, with the same number of radiating arms and heads, holding an analogous expression. Note the similar size (72 x 62 cm) and earlier dating. Also note that this comparison is for the subject only, the thangka here is painted while the present lot is a woven silk textile.

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拍品估价:4,000 - 8,000 欧元 起拍价格:4,000 欧元  买家佣金: 30.00%

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