A SILK APPLIQUÉ THANGKA OF A CHITIPATI YANTRA, MONGOLIA, 19TH CENTURYFinely woven with two skeletons standing in unity on conch shells atop a lotus pillow, holding a skull club, a kapala, a kundika, and a medicinal plant. The thangka is centered by the circular yantra with a lengthy inscription and decorated with flame, vajra, and floral designs.Provenance: The Triay Collection of Himalayan Art. Ian Triay is a Spanish banking executive and the Honorary Consul in Spain for the Kingdom of Bhutan. He actively participated in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Bhutan and in projects of mutual interest to both countries. Assembled over a period of 40 years with an eye for the unusual and esoteric, the Triay Collection was a unique assemblage of Himalayan art. With many works featured in the landmark exhibitions in the Fundación "La Caixa", Madrid in 2000, Musée Guimet, Paris in 2002, Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2003, and the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in 2010, this collection shines a fascinating light on Buddhist ritual art. A particular focus in the collection was the Chitipati. In the Tibetan Buddhist artistic traditions, graphic images of death and the afterlife – an area which is of particular fascination to the collector – are used as reminders that life is fleeting and that we must act virtuously.Condition: Good condition with old wear, traces of age and usage, little soiling, loose threads.Dimensions: Image size 46 x 33 cm, Size incl. mounting 83.5 x 51.5 cmChitipati are a divine skeleton couple also and initially known as Shri Shmashana Adhipati, "the lord and lady of the charnel ground." They act as protector deities, particularly against thieves and grave robbers, vowing to destroy enemies of the Dharma. They are closely associated with the Chakrasamvara Tantra and visually represented as intertwined jovial skeletal figures, each holding various attributes, dancing in a halo of wild flames. Their wrathful and skeletal appearance can be likened to a momento mori, acting as a reminder of death and the temporality of all things. As macabre lords of the cremation grounds, they serve to remind Tibetans of the inevitability of death and decay, while at the same time, to celebrate one's ultimate liberation from duality. A much beloved subject in Tibetan Buddhism, the Chitipati are represented on thangkas and appliques, in sculpture, on wooden shrines and furniture, and as elaborate costumes worn during ceremonial dances (Cham), in a visual type that bes standardized for centuries.Memento mori (Latin for 'remember that you die') is an artistic or symbolic trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and appeared in art and architecture from the medieval period onwards. The mostmon motif is a skull, often apanied by one or more bones, or aplete skeleton. Often this alon