Antique Tibet Tibetan Tangka Thangka "Vajrasattva"
The main buddha of the tangka is Vajrasattva and several other deities are present.
54 x 69.5 cm
Mineral pigment on Cotton with some iridescent paints in some parts.
Several old repairs - that have themselves aged significantly - as the cloth has cracked over the centuries.
Heavily saturated colors with significant oil / butter vapor substrate
Dark & unevenly faded.
Estimated to be from the 18th century or earlier
Thangkas that were once in active use for worship hung in high places inside monasteries. They are exposed to butter-lamp vapors over decades.The inside of a monastery is filled with fragrance and silence. Some of the fragrance is aged and some is more recent as there are very few openings so that the cold is kept out. Decades of butter lamp vapors & incense vapors hang heavy making these monasteries extraordinary sanctums. These vapors also darken every object present within - including Thangkas. So an old thangka that has lived and absorbed the pure energy of a sacred space is always darkened. Monasteries sometimes de-accession some and that is how they are available in the outside world
A prized treasure in the wovensouls collection!
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This item has spent a lifetime being used for the purpose of its creation with the original artist/user. Signs of this life lived heartily may be present on the piece in the form of stains, thread loss, loose threads, holes, tears, color run and other imperfections. Therefore the condition must be assumed to be “not” perfect. More photos of such imperfections will be provided on request.
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