Three patriarchs from the Sakya tradition Tibet, 18th ct, 80,5 x 52,5 cm (120 x 72 cm) Inscriptions, and bottom line in gold lettering. Inscription on reverse: Oṃ sarba bidya swahā (rgod gyi brag grags pa rgyal mtshan la phyag 'tshal zhing skyabs su mchi'o byin gyi rlabs tu gsol /) - I bow to the fierce rock Drakpa Gyaltsen (1147- 1216), [I] ask for the blessing to take refuge. Ye dharma hetuprabhavā hetun teṣān tathāgato hyavadat, teṣān ca yo nirodha evam vādi mahāśramaṇaḥ(slob dpon bod nam btse lo la phyag 'tshal zhing skyabs su mchi'o byin gyi rlabs tu gsol /) - I bow to the teacher Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182), [I] ask for the blessing to take refuge. Oṃ sarba bidya swahā ('jam pa'i dbyangs sa skya pan chen la phyag 'tshal zhing skyabs su mchi'o byin gyi rlabs tu gsol /) I bow to the Buddha of Wisdom Sakya Panchen (1182-1252), [I] request the blessing to take refuge. This precious painting is a lineage thangka from the tradition of the Sakya school. The three founders of the Sakya School, depicted in gold for special veneration, are venerable masters who developed the school to its highest flowering. Drakpa Gyaltsen (top centre) taught "freedom from the four attachments", which he is said to have received in a vision from the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri. Sonam Tsemo (left) was the son of Sachen Künga Nyingpo, who systematised all the teachings of the Sakya tradition and thus created the special doctrinal structure of this school. Sonam Tsemo became a disciple of his father, and received all the teachings of the Sakya school from him. Together with the Indian scholar Shakya Shri Bhadra, the nephew of Drakpa Gyaltsen, Sakya Panchen (right), translated important texts on logic, which became a standard work on the subject in the "New Schools of Buddhism in Tibet", after Tsenpo Langdarma 836 to 842/846. In 1247, Sakya Pandita, as he was also called, travelled to Lanzhou accompanied by his nephew Chögyel Phagpa at the invitation of the Mongol prince Godan Khan. There he created a draft grammar for the Mongolian language and spread Buddhism in the country. Shortly before his death, he appointed his nephew Chögyel Phagpa as his successor. Gathered around the three prominent patriarchs are numerous clerics of the aforementioned school, as well as laymen and siddhas, most of whom have inscriptions in gold with their names. Tempera and gold on cotton fabric, original silk satin border patterned with symbols. Old South German private collection, mostly acquired from Schoettle Ostasiatika between 1968 and the 1980s Wear, traces of age