A Closer Look

Coming under the hammer on 21 March in Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art is an exquisite Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting, depicting the Buddha, from the collection of Michael Henss, celebrated scholar of Tibetan art.

The Henss Buddha Thangka is one of the most important early Tibetan paintings recorded. When it was commissioned in Central Tibet during the late-12th or early-13th century, it would have served as a critical link between the Northeast Indian Pala Buddhist tradition and the Tibetan interpretation thereafter.

Take a closer look:

The remarkably well-preserved thangka is a prime example of the nascent thangka tradition in Tibet, preceding the strict visual codification adopted by Tibetan monastic orders shortly thereafter. The artist’s freedom of expression is clear throughout the thangka, from the notably long inward-curling lotus petals touching the Buddha's knees from the sides of the central throne base to the exquisite scrollwork embellishing the tips of both layers of petals.

Many of the stylistic elements of the Henss Buddha Thangka correlate with mural paintings in important monuments established within the formative years of the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in Tibet (late 10th – 12th centuries). For example, the tiered arrangement of flanking bodhisattvas, arhats, and pratyekabuddhas echoes the surrounding attendants of Vairocana in a painted mural at Drathang monastery, dated to the end of the 11th century.

The thangka also depicts a venerable tableau of celestial beings, all gathered in attendance of its large Buddha image. The radiant image of Buddha, with his right hand poised in the earth-touching gesture (bhumisparsa mudra), derives from the account of the historical Shakyamuni Buddha's great awakening.

The painting’s reverse bears a lengthy inscription spaced within the outline of a Buddhist reliquary, or stupa. The inscription observes patterns seen in 13th-century Tibetan paintings, including consecration mantras, the verse of dependent origination, and four verses from the Pratimokshasutra, which were believed to sanctify the painting and make it a worthy recipient (rten) of the divine presence.

Despite its age, the Henss Buddha Thangka retains extraordinary integrity—a testament to the skill of the artist and the techniques employed in preparing the painting’s cloth support, the binder used as its ground, and its pigments. The dominant deep gold colour is seen in the radiant complexion of Shakyamuni and in the bodies of many celestial beings. Meanwhile, a pale coral-red colours their robes, and a complimentary pale blue is used for the throne cushions, lotus petals, attendant rampant lions (vyala), and on occasion, the skin tones of the bodhisattvas.

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Browse all lots in our auction on 21 March in New York, or reach out to mark.rasmussen@bonhams.com for inquiries.