A Tibetan thangka depicting Sakya Pandita Künga Gyeltshen (1182-1251). 18th century
Seated in the centre on an elaborate dragon throne debating with the naked Indian Shivaite ascetic Harinanda squating to the lower right, with Chaturmukha Mahakala to the side, Maitreya as an ascetic standing in front of the Tushita palace to the left, with Manjushri and Jetsun Dragpa Gyaltsen (1147-1216) in clouds above, all within a mountainous landscape. Inscription to the lower border. Gouache and gold on cloth. Brocade mounting. Strongly worn, damages and repairs.
69.5 x 42.5 cm
Sakya Pandita Künga Gyeltshen (1182-1251) is counted as the fourth of the five patriarchs of Sakya and according to Sakya tradition, he is a incararnation of the Panchen Lama. He was known as a formidable philosophical debater, and travelled to Kyirong in 1240 where he famously debated and defeated the Indian scholar Harinanda.
The present painting is based on a famous series of portraits engraved between 1705 and 1734 at the monastery of Narthang. Painted by monks throughout Tibet, the portraits depict the successive incarnations of the Panchen Lama, ruler of the monastery of Tashilunpo and abbot of the Gelugpa order.
十八世紀 薩迦·班智達唐卡
可比：David Jackson 著，A History of Tibetan Paintings, 維也納 1996年，頁235，圖46
來源：德國北威州Dr. W. D. Franz 博士 (1915-2005)私人收藏，此後家族傳承
Provenance
Dr. W. D. Franz (1915-2005), North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
Literature
Compare a very similar painting illustrated in: David Jackson, A History of Tibetan Paintings, Vienna, 1996, p. 235, pl. 46