Images

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FB5E592D8734D284BB177CCD3CB9EE9C09E94316964597A8A6B63D3709DAD1E5&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=3&f=%5Cd8685%5Cu259486854%5C1987.146_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=85B262DA9AF64601CEE8649BC2E29E8984893788090FA25FBA85B908504CE0E3&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=2&f=1987.146_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FB5E592D8734D2846E862F58B60D6307D3390D6D09F0FE9EF8AFC82F1614727F&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=3&f=%5Cd8747%5Cu259487474%5C1987.146_det02_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FB5E592D8734D284B351170E6575C4474DE7AE297FA7E2DCDFF74698B8DBA581&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=3&f=%5Cd8722%5Cu259487222%5C1987.146det01_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FB5E592D8734D284F28B6EB49572CA9F7815F7881B830C2FCF78EE8EAE2FA7E3&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=3&f=%5Cd8731%5Cu259487310%5C1987.146det03_o2.jpg

https://piction.clevelandart.org/cma/ump.di?e=FB5E592D8734D28485990B5412612C3AA6131D681EE284157A3B4A5941A3A975&s=24247294&se=1128270358&v=3&f=%5Cd8739%5Cu259487392%5C1987.146det04_o2.jpg

Additional Views

Feb 9, 2022

Nov 12, 2009

Feb 9, 2022

Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210)

c. 1236–1310

Central Tibet

Gum tempera on sized cotton

Overall: 51.4 x 39.4 cm (20 1/4 x 15 1/2 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1987.146

Location

not on view

Did you know?

The Five Cosmic Buddhas in their six-armed forms are aligned at the top.

Description

High-level leaders of Buddhist monastic institutions were frequent portrait subjects of early thangka painting (devotional cloth scrolls) in Central Tibet. The lama (Tibetan monk) on the right founded Taklung Monastery in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, which became an important institutional center of the Kagyu order. He is shown in discourse with his predecessor, whose teacher Gampopa (1079–1153), in turn, is the tiny gray-haired lama centered above them, between the colorful stylized mountain ranges.

Their halos, lotus pedestal, and thrones with spitting elephant-trunked crocodiles and rearing griffins elevate them to the level of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Despite their deification, they are still depicted with individualized facial features.

Inscriptions

Inscription

[1] ōṃ ŌṂ [2] sa rva vyid [3] svā hā// ōṃ [4] su pra ti ṣṭha vajra [5] svā hā// ye dha [6] rma he tu pra bha vā he tun te śan [7] ta tha ga to hya va tad de ṣan ca [8] yo ni ro dha ye vaṃ vā [9] ti ma [hā] śra [ma] ṇa// bzod [10] pa dka’ A thub bzod [11] daṃ pa ni[//] mya ngan ’das [12] ces sangs rgyas gsung// [13] rab tu byung ba gzhan la gnod pa ni dang// [14] gzhan la ’tshe HŪṂ ba de ni dge sbyong ma [15] yin no//

Inscription Translation

Lines 5-9: "Those things which arise from a cause, the Tathagata has declared their cause. Their cessation too the great renunciant (śramana) has stated." Lines 9-15: “The holy ascetic practice of patience is the best path to Buddhahood, thus the Buddha has said. For a monk to harm others is not virtuous practice.” Transcription and translation by Jane Casey

Inscription Remark

Pre-consecration inscriptions written in Tibetan Uchen (dbu cen) script behind the figure of Phagmo Drupa (left central figure on recto) Lines 1-3: Sanskrit mantra of all the knowledge Lines 3-5: Sanskrit mantra of consecration Lines 5-9: Sanskrit ye dharmā verse Lines 9-15: Tibetan verse of patience

Inscription

[1] ōṃ ŌṂ [2] sa rva vyid svā [3] hā// ōṃ su pra [4] ti ṣṭha vajra svā hā// [5] ye dha rma he tu pra bha vā he tun te śan ta tha ga to [6] hya va tad de ṣan ca yo ni ro dha e vaṃ vā ṭi ma hā [7] śra ma na ye// bzod pa dka’ thub [8] bzod pa daṃ pa ni// mya ngan pa [9] ’das ces A sangs rgyas gsung: [10] rab tu byung ba gzhan la gnod pa dang[//] gzhan la ’tshe ba [11] de ni dge sbyong ma yin HŪṂ no// ōṃ ma ni pad me hūṃ

Inscription Translation

Written in Tibetan Uchen (dbu cen) script: Lines 1-3: Sanskrit mantra of all the knowledge Lines 3-4: Sanskrit mantra of consecration Lines 5-7: Sanskrit ye dharmā verse Lines 7-11: Tibetan verse of patience Line 11: Sanskrit six syllable mantra Transcription and identifications by Jane Casey Singer

Inscription Remark

Pre-consecration inscription behind Taklung Thangpa Chenpo, Tashipel (right central figure on recto)

Provenance

?-1987

(David Tremayne Ltd., London, UK, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)

1987-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1987.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 75, no. 2, 1988, pp. 30–71. Mentioned: no. 217, p. 71; Reproduced: no. 217, p. 49 www.jstor.org

Tilden, Jill. First Under Heaven: The Art of Asia. London: Hali Publications Ltd, 1997. Mentioned and Reproduced: no. 14, p. 135, no. 15, p. 137 (detail)

Kossak, Steven, Jane Casey Singer, and Robert Bruce-Gardner. Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1998. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 26, pp. 113-115 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org

Weldon, David, and Jane Casey Singer. The sculptural heritage of Tibet: Buddhist art in the Nyingjei Lam Collection. London: Laurence King Publishing, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: fig. 52, pp. 136-137

Exhibition history

Main Asian Rotation (Gallery 239). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (November 18, 2013-June 30, 2014).

The Year in Review for 1987. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 24-April 17, 1988).

Sacred Visions: Early Paintings from Central Tibet. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (October 5, 1998-January 17, 1999); Museum Rietberg, Zürich (February 14-May 16, 1999).

Himalayan Gallery 237 Rotation. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 12-August 29, 2021).

Cite this page

{{cite web|title=Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210)|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1987.146|year=c. 1236–1310|access-date=09 December 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.

You are here:

Images

Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210)

Portraits of Two Lineage Masters of the Kagyu Order: Phagmo Drupa (1110–1170) and Tashipel (1142–1210)

Central Tibet

Location

Download and Share

Did you know?

Description

Inscription

Inscription Translation

Inscription Remark

Inscription

Inscription Translation

Inscription Remark

Contact us