Mandala of the Buddhist Protective Deity Sitatapatra (White Parasol) Artist: Unknown

early 16th century

Asian Art

Not on view

The inscription at the bottom of this painting indicates that it was dedicated to the revered teacher Konchong Pewar (1445–1545) by Lhachog Sengye (1468–1535), the ninth abbot of the Ngor monastery in Central Tibet. Sitatapatra, identified by the white parasol in her principal right hand and the wheel in her left, has three faces and ten hands. A protector against supernatural forces, she sits in the center of this palace-architecture mandala, a diagrammatic rendering of a cosmos she generates and maintains. Additional images of the goddess, further manifestations of her spiritual essence and power, surround the primary image: they are also shown in the inner rings and at the four outer quadrants. As is typical of paintings from Ngor, a lush and lively floral scroll fills the background.

Medium

Opaque watercolor on cloth

Dimensions

image: 20 × 17 in. (50.8 × 43.2 cm)

Credit Line

S. Wells Williams Collection, Bequest of F. Wells Williams, B.A. 1879, by exchange, and bequest of Florence Baiz van Volkenburgh in memory of her husband, Thomas Sedgwick van Volkenburgh, B.A. 1866, by exchange

Accession Number

2022.29.1

Geography

Ngor monastery, Sakya tradition, Tibet

Culture

Tibetan

Classification

Paintings

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Commissioned by Lhachog Sengye (1468–1535), Ngor Monastery, U-Tsang Province, Tibet. Acquired by private collection, New York, the early 1970s [see note 1]; by descent to private collection, Acton, Mass., by 2021; sale, Sotheby’s, New York, September 20, 2021, lot 316; sold to Kapoor Assets, New York, September 20, 2021; sold to the Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn., 2022

Note 1: Thangka is said to have been acquired by the parents of the Sotheby’s consignor in the early 1970s at the suggestion of Dr. Stella Kramrisch (1896–1993), one of the most prominent scholars of Indian and Himalayan Art in the United States in the second half of the twentieth century.

Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Inscriptions

According to the inscription beneath the lower register, this mandala was dedicated to the revered teacher Konchong Pelwar (1445 – 1514) by Lhachog Sengye (1468 – 1535), the ninth abbot of Ngor monastery in Tibet.

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