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Published: Himalayan Art Resources, item number 90305, dated 16th century.
Inscriptions: The vignettes each inscribed in gold within red cartouches to describe the particular nature of the scene, reinforcing the didactic function of the painting.
Gold and distemper on cloth. Seated centrally at the left, Kalika, the 4th arhat, has a shaved head and growth of facial hair. In the two hands he holds large gold earrings—a display of magical emanation. Wearing red robes adorned with gold floral patterns and a blue inner garment, he rests in a relaxed posture on a cushion seat with the head surrounded by a bright red areola.
Opposite is Vanavasin, the 3rd arhat, in similar appearance, with the right hand extended forward in a pointing gesture above the knee, the left holds a fly whisk upraised - gold handled, mounted with a white tuft of yak tail. Attired in various robes, he sits in a relaxed posture with the right foot exposed. Above and below, scenes from the life story of the two arhats are played out in lavish palaces, mountain retreats and open landscapes.
The episodes surrounding the central figures show Kalika's ascetic practices in charnel grounds, his transformation into a wandering sage, and the transmission of blessings through his miraculous earrings; and Vanavasin's extended meditation in the cave of Seven Leaves, his ordination as a monk, and his encounters with celestial beings.
Provenance: Navin Kumar, Inc., New York, 1998. The Robert and Lois Baylis Collection, Connecticut, United States, acquired from the above, and thence by descent. A copy of the invoice from Navin Kumar, dated 8 April 1998, addressed to Robert Baylis, attributing the present thangka to Eastern Tibet and dating it ca. 1600, accompanies the lot. Navin Kumar is a distinguished New York dealer specializing in Tibetan art, modern Indian art, and Indian court painting. Through his eponymous gallery, Navin Kumar, Inc., he has played an influential role over more than five decades in promoting Asian art internationally, publishing important studies and assisting in the formation of major private and institutional collections, including those of the Rubin Museum of Art and the Essen Collection. Robert M. Baylis is an American financier, collector, and museum patron with a longstanding interest in the art and material culture of Tibet and the Himalayan regions. His work brought him into close contact with countries across Asia, and he lived for several years in Hong Kong. Beginning in 1985, Baylis travelled extensively through Tibet and the Himalayas. Together with his wife Lois, he first visited Tibet in 1986, where the couple developed a particular admiration for the region’s textile traditions. Over subsequent years they assembled one of the foremost collections of modern Tibetan carpets, distinguished by its breadth, quality, and variety of design. A substantial selection from the Robert W. and Lois Baylis Collection was presented at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in the exhibition Patterns of Life: The Art of Tibetan Carpets, held from 8 April to 22 August 2011. Following his retirement from banking in 1996, Baylis remained active in corporate, academic, scientific, and cultural institutions. He held senior trustee and committee positions at the Rubin Museum of Art, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology.
Condition: Overall good condition with old wear, minor soiling, light creasing, little flaking to pigments with few touchups, and tiny mounting holes along the outer margins. Two small rectangular sections of the painting restored. The frame is in excellent condition with only minor wear.
Dimensions: Image size 76 x 63 cm, Size incl. frame 99.5 x 84 cm
Framed behind glass. (2)
This thangka pairs Kalika and Vanavasin, two of the Sixteen Elders venerated within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The Sixteen Great Arhats are generally painted as a set. Typically, the full group would include the Buddha Shakyamuni, the 16 arhats, the attendant Dharmatala, the patron Hva-shang and the Four Guardians of the Directions: Vaishravana, Virupaksha, Dritarashtra and Virudhaka.
Literature comparison:
Compare three paintings from the same set, all dated to the 16th century: one of Bhadra and Vajriputra in the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, accession number P1995.30.1, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 214; another of Kanaka Bharadvaja and Kanakavatsa also in the Rubin Museum of Art, accession number F1997.45.3, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 579, and by Pratapaditya Pal, Tibetan Paintings, 1984, pl. 62, where it is attributed to Eastern Tibet and dated ca. 1600; and a third in the Yale University Art Gallery, accession number 1988.76.11, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 1988.76.11.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Closely related
Auction: Sotheby’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 353
Price: USD 92,500 or approx. EUR 118,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: The Arhats Panthaka and Nagasena, Tibet
Expert remark: Compare the related subject, iconography, and manner of painting. Note the smaller size (67.3 x 43.2 cm).
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