A painting of Vajrayogini

TIBET, CIRCA 1415

Details

A painting of Vajrayogini
Tibet, circa 1415
The red goddess dancing over a prone figure, holding a khatvanga staff, skullcup and curved knife, dressed in a skirt and jewelry made of bone and wearing a skull tiara, surrounded by retinue figures, protector deities, lineage teachers and mahasiddhas, the donor depicted in the lower right corner
Opaque pigments and gold on textile
24¾ x 19¼ in. (63 x 49 cm.)

Provenance

Private collection, Europe, acquired in London, 29 October 1991

Literature

Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 30660

Lot Essay

The central figure is immediately surrounded by retinue figures with Kalachakra (upper right), Vajrabhairava (lower right), Chakrasamvara (lower left) and blue Hevajra (upper left). In the far left column are Indian Mahasiddhas and the bottom center are protector deities. The rest of the outer registers are filled with lineage teachers, starting at upper left and proceeding clockwise. This lineage shows the Karma Kagyu tradition and includes the Fifth Karmapa, Deshin Shegpa who lived from 1384-1415; hence the dating of this painting.

Vajrayogini is the representation of complete Buddhahood in the female form, and represents wisdom in the Chakrasamvara cycle of tantras; see lots 260 and 268 for examples of these mandalas where Chakrasamvara represents compassion.

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