拍品描述:西藏 十五世纪 多闻天王唐卡 Himalayan Art Resources item no. 13837. HAR编号13837 Distemper on cloth For further information on the condition of this lot please contact Alexandra.Farahnik@sothebys.com Acquired in New York, 2017. Vaishravana, the Buddhist Guardian of the North is worshipped in Tibet as a benefactor and bestower of wealth. He is depicted as a warrior-king dressed in a flowing robe, an armored breastplate and skirt, and wearing elegant boots, gold necklaces and earrings, and a sumptuous gold and gem-set crown. The mongoose (nakula) in his left hand is an ancient Indian symbol of riches, and a stream of jewels flows from the animal’s mouth. The tiger-skin canopy of the victory banner (dhvaja) that he holds in his right hand symbolizes strength and military prowess. His white snow lion mount (vahana) is the emblem of Tibet and a symbol of fearless power. The lion is adorned with a saddle rug and golden trappings and crouches at the base of a tiered red- and white-walled palace towering behind Vaishravana, with doors on each level, some open and guarded by warriors. A red sun and white moon appear either side of Vaishravana’s halo. Gods, mahasiddhas, and wealth deities surround the edifice together with Vaishravana’s equestrian retinue, the Eight Lords of the Horse (asvapati), Jambhala, Purnabhadra, Manibhadra, Kubera, Samjneya, Atavaka, Panchika, and Bijakundalin. A lama in the lower register is seated with mounds of large multi-coloured jewels and is presented with an offering by a regal figure. A related scene of a donor and a monk with a bowl of jewels is depicted on a c. 1400 Vaishravana in the Michael and Beata McCormick Collection, see Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, expanded edition, London, 1996, p. 428, cat. 181 (43a). Rhie and Thurman suggest that the scene might depict the legend associated with the Vaishravana wealth cult in which Padmasambhava taught Trisong Detsen (740-798) the Vaishravana ritual practice, which the king mastered and used to raise funds for the construction of Samye monastery. The Vaishravana practice was maintained by subsequent Tibetan rulers and monastic orders in support of the Buddhist community. This painting is distinguished by the monumental scale of Vaishravana and his lion, the refined raised gold-work that gives dimension to the crown, jewelry, and aureole, and the extensive use of the precious metal throughout. Gold can replace the iconographic color of a deity and the use of the precious metal in painting became popular in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, cf. a circa fourteenth century golden Chakrasamvara in these rooms , 20th March 1997, lot 75, and a fifteenth century gold Vajrapani in the same rooms, 26th March 1998, lot 117. Compare also the dramatic use of gold and the intense expression on the face of a ca 1450 Vajrabhairava in the Zimmerman Family Collection, see Pratapaditya Pal, Himalayas: An Aesthetic Adventure, Chicago, 2003, pp 236-37, cat. no. 155. And compare the halo of textured gold interspersed with lotus leaves, with the halo of raised gold and pearls on a Padmasambhava with similar palette, lively movement of mahasiddhas, arched shrines and gold-flecked aureoles of fire surrounding tantric figures, dated to the late fourteenth or early fifteenth century in David P. Jackson, Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet, New York, 2011, p. 61, fig. 2.32. Compare also the raised gold aureole and animation of the dancing figures in a fourteenth or first half of the fifteenth century Amitayus in the Michael and Beata McCormick Collection, illustrated in Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet, expanded edition, 1996, p. 478, cat. 234 (150a). Close similarities with these fourteenth and fifteenth century paintings suggest a date of at least the early fifteenth century for this rare and powerful depiction of the wealth god and his auspicious snow lion mount. 财宝天王在西藏被奉为护财之神，主北方，形象威武，身披长袍，穿甲冑、长靴、黄金项链及耳环，金冠嵌宝石，骑白狮，左手持神鼠，后者在古时印度是财富象征，鼠口吐珍寳，右手持宝伞则象征力量。白色雪狮象征西藏，代表无畏力量。比较一例，约公元1400年，刻划善信及僧人，僧人手持一钵，钵内承载珍寳，Michael及Beata McCormick珍藏，载于Marylin M. Rhie及Robert A. F. Thurman，《Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet》，增订版，伦敦，1996年，页428，编号181 （43a）。Rhie及Thurman认为画中情境或是描绘忿怒莲师教授西藏赤松德赞王（740-798年）使其精其法意并兴建桑耶寺的佛教故事。后来继任的西藏君主继续供奉财宝天王，支持佛教在西藏发展。 本画中财宝天王及雪狮威武摄人，金冠、璎珞珠宝及背光华美精致，可比一例，断代十四世纪末或十五世纪初，载于David P. Jackson，《Mirror of the Buddha: Early Portraits from Tibet》，纽约，2011年，页61，图2.32。本画刻划财宝天王及雪狮庄严威武，极为罕有，应亦可断代至少至十五世纪初。