TIBET, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

Painted in a style emulating the great Khyentse Chenmo of the fifteenth century, the present work depicts the mahasiddha Virupa alongside the Margapala lineage figures. Seated in a yogic position on the skin of an antelope, Virupa holds his hands in the teaching gesture in front of his chest; he is lightly clad in robes and scarves, and is adorned with a flower garland and wreath, with a small manuscript bound in his topknot. Shakyamuni Buddha sits on a lotus base, his skin picked out in gold, and the Three Great Red Ones - Kurukulla, Takkiraja & Maharakta Ganapati – are depicted standing on lotus bases and backed by flaming aureoles at the bottom. Six of the earliest Margapala lineage holders - Kanha, Damarupa, Avadhutipa, Je Gayadhara, Je Drogmi Shakya Yeshe, and Je Khar Chungpa Kunrig – are shown seated either side of Virupa, with the first three depicted in typical fashion for Indian mahasiddhas, and the latter three depicted as monastic teachers. Both Virupa and the lineage figures are painted with the almost rectangular faces characteristic of the Khyenri style, and the influence of this artistic movement is also found in the flaming aureoles of the Three Great Red Ones. Although the overall composition is more ordered than typical Khyenri depictions of mahasiddhas, the style employed by the artist was clearly indebted to the artistry of Khyentse Chenmo.