AN EMBROIDERED THANGKA, YONGLEChina 1402-1424. Avalokiteshvara Lokeshvara seated in padmasana in front of a two-tiered mandorla, holding lotus flowers in his hands, sided by two depictions of Buddha Shakyamuni.Provenance: An important German private collection. Acquired in China between 1910 and 1930. Thence by descent. A detailed provenance letter will be handed to the winning bidder.Condition: Minor tears and losses to the background only, partially with visibly stitched repairs, some staining and soiling. Absolutely no repairs or losses to the depiction. Given its high age this is still in good condition. The border with extensive damage, possibly a later addition. Dimensions: 117 x 88 cm.The background neatly woven with double gourds, floral sprays, endless knots and medallion-shaped characters. This sumptuous thangka illustrates the Emperor Yongle’s devoted patronage of Tibetan Buddhism and the extraordinary ritual objects that were produced as a result. It retains its brilliant surface which has been created using a special and particularly laborious satin stitch technique with single thread silk floss. An imperial quality is created through the extravagant use of yellow in the background, a color that possesses the highest symbolic meaning as it signifies both the emperor, as well as renunciation and humility. Thangkas of this type were produced and presented by the imperial court as gifts for Tibetan religious officials. Official accounts, in particular the court record of daily events, Xizang shiliao, document numerous imperial gifts to Tibetan lamas, and to their temples and monasteries in the Chinese capital and Tibet.According to Michael Henss, these early ‘pictorial embroideries, tapestries, and brocades fall in between established art historical domains in two ways: they cannot be classified as paintings, nor are they textiles in the usual sense. Chinese by technique and origin, but Tibetan by subject and composition’. See ‘The Woven Image: Tibeto-Chinese Textile Thangkas of the Yuan and Early Ming Dynasties’, Orientations, November 1997, p. 26.永樂刺綉唐卡中國,1402-1424。觀音菩薩蓮花坐姿,背後雙圈光背,手持蓮花,左右各坐一位釋迦牟尼。來源:一個重要德國私人收藏。于1910-1930年間購於中國,至此保存至今。一封詳細的收藏信件會交給拍賣獲勝者。品相:背景処些微水跡和開綫,局部可見黏貼修補,一些染色和污跡。正圖部位絕對沒有修復或開綫。雖然年代已久但品相仍是不錯。底部襯托有些損坏,應該是後加。尺寸:117x88厘米