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Lot Essay
Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419) is the founder of the Gelug order of Tibetan Buddhism, the "newest" of the extant schools. Tsongkhapa studied the traditions of the Nyingma, Sakya, Kagyü, and particularly Kadam lineages, and codified certain principles of all of them in the Gelug tradition. Today, the order is the most popularly followed in Tibet, with its head, the Dalai Lama, seen as the spiritual leader of the country. The Gelug tradition is also known as the "Yellow Hat Sect," for the color of their pointed caps, and Tsongkhapa can often be identified by the hat as well as the sword and manuscript which sit in lotus blossoms at his shoulders.
This painting is of exceptional artistic quality and can be dated to the late 18th or early 19th centuries. The horizontality and ornate scrolling of the clouds and symmetry of the composition are hallmarks of the period and reveal an indebtedness to certain influences in Chinese painting.
This painting is of exceptional artistic quality and can be dated to the late 18th or early 19th centuries. The horizontality and ornate scrolling of the clouds and symmetry of the composition are hallmarks of the period and reveal an indebtedness to certain influences in Chinese painting.