Dharmapala Thangka CentreSchool of Thangka Painting


3.59 Amitayus [4]

Part of a wall painting in Alchi monastery - Ladakh/India

Full View Detail 1: Above Amitayus there are also two Kinnaras [mixed beings between bird & man] on the right and left, each blowing a long tuba Detail 2: Amitayus is seated inside an elaborate palace on a double Iotus-throne supported by five peacocks Detail 3 Detail 4: Different Manifestations of Manjushri [1] Detail 5: Different Manifestations of Manjushri [2] Detail 6 Detail 7: Red Bodhisattva with 6 arms. His main hands form the gesture of preaching, his lower right hand shows the gesture of giving, and his third right hand holds a stupa Detail 8: Above the monks follow two registers of aligned Hindu and Buddhist deities flanking four Bodhisattvas placed on either side of Amitayus Detail 9: A frieze of ten monks - four here on the right side Detail 11: Two Monks Detail 12: A frieze of ten monks - four here on the left side Detail 13: Above the monks follow two registers of aligned Hindu and Buddhist deities flanking four Bodhisattvas placed on either side of Amitayus Detail 14 Detail 15: A red Bodhisattva with a mala  [paryer beads] and an object representing a stylized lotus flower

The original of this scroll painting as a wall painting in the three-storey Sumtsek temple of Alchi monastery in Ladakh.

Alchi belongs to the two surviving monasteries of the 11th century. The second monastery is Tabo / Spiti also located in the Indian Himalaya.

The wall paintings of these two monasteries are important aspects of the development of Buddhist art in the Himalayan region and its deep connections with the philosophy and art of eastern India and Kashmir. Die Wandmalereien dieser beiden Klöster sind wichtige Aspekte der Entwicklung der buddhistischen Kunst in der Himalaya-Region und ihrer tiefen Verbundenheit mit der Philosophie und Kunst Ostindiens und Kaschmirs.

The wall paintings of Alchi and Tabo are unique nowadays because all other monasteries of these centuries were destroyed by the Muslim army led by the Turkish leader Bakhtiyar Khilji in 1193.

Amitayus is seated inside an elaborate palace on a double Iotus-throne supported by five peacocks.

The palace's pillars are formed of two elephants on which are placed two snarling white lions.

The capitals provide for the base of two sea monsters [makaras] that form the palace's torana-like roof by being exuded from the white Garuda flying high above Amitayus's head.

Two two Kinnaras [mixed beings between bird & man] blowing fanfare horns and holding standards are seated on the makaras. Interesting spiral decorative elements project from the makaras' bodies that serve to fill and to loosen up of the temple's red-colored background area.

Source: "Treasure of the Himalayas, Peter van Ham - Amy Heller, Hirmer Verlag, 2018"



Creation of this painting
More about Alchi monastrery ...



Our Alchi Monasterey Thangkas
 

PropertyValue
Measurements: 43.3 x 35.4" | 110 x 90 cm
Price: on request
Shipment: Parcel Service from Germany or Nepal
Color: Color Version
Material: Natural Stone Colors
High resolution: Display [2.3 MB, 2475 x 1881 px.]