Thanka of Hierachs of the Sakya Lineage by Anonymous

Thanka of Hierachs of the Sakya Lineage c. late 17th century

abstract painting

egg art

stain glass

handmade artwork painting

tile art

fluid art

naive art

earthenware

cartoon theme

watercolor

This "Thanka of Hierarchs of the Sakya Lineage", created in the late 17th century by an anonymous artist, depicts the lineage of the Sakya school of Tibetan Buddhism. The central figures are Sakya Pandita, who is seated on the left, and the founder of the Sakya school, Khön Könchog Gyalpo, seated on the right. The image is arranged in a traditional hierarchical format, with the most important figures placed at the top. This type of artwork, known as a thanka, is a common form of Tibetan religious art and serves as a visual guide for practitioners. The vibrant colors and intricate details of this painting are characteristic of Tibetan Buddhist art and were used to inspire devotion and meditation.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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These finely preserved and colorful thankas, possibly from a larger set, depict several monks of the Sakya ("red hat") lineage. Thanka paintings portraying the hierarchical lineage of Sakyapa monks were especially popular with monasteries of that sect. In such portrayals, one or two important personages of the lineage are usually represented as large figures in the center surrounded by smaller images of lesser stature.Twenty monks are illustrated in these two paintings, each is identified by small Tibetan gold script under or next to each lama. The four large portraits include: Tsarchen Chokyi Gyalpo, Gorumpa Kunza Legpa, Ketsum Chenpo Namko Legpa, and Palden Lama Dampa Sonam Gyaltsen.While these thankas display the brilliant blue-green style of Chinese landscape tradition that was popular in 17th and 18th century Tibet, the finely etched and unetched gold work, style of the monk's hats, and technical aspects of the foliage all refer to similar thankas that are dated to the seventeenth century.