Yungdron Dorje Pal (1284–1365) subduing a wrathful demon while attended by a meditation deity, Mahakala and other monks.

Accession Number
1973/1.719

Title
Yungdron Dorje Pal (1284–1365) subduing a wrathful demon while attended by a meditation deity, Mahakala and other monks.

Artist(s)
Tibetan

Artist Nationality
Tibetan (culture or style)

Object Creation Date
1700-1750

Medium & Support
ink and gouache on cotton

Dimensions
4 ft. x 26 1/2 in. (121.92 x 67.31 cm);4 ft. x 26 1/2 in. (121.92 x 67.31 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mrs. Josselyn Van Tyne

Subject matter
A portrait of a lama (teacher), dressed in red and monk's robes and a red pandita (scholar's) hat, in confrontation with a blue-faced, three-eyed demon. The lama may be tentatively identified as the early 14th-century master Yungdron Dorje Pal. He is shown here holding a 'kila' dagger in his right hand, while he extends his right hand to offer a skull cup to the blue demon.
Three monks in red robes, two of whom wear folded pandita hats, look on the scene from the lower left corner; in the lower right-hand corner, the blue-skinned dharmapala Mahakala tramples a prone figure. To the viewer's upper left is a meditation deity, a yab-yum pair with flame-red skin. At the upper right, a monk-scholar sits calmly within a blue orb, reading from a text.
Other paintings with this same composition are illustated on http://wwe.himalayanart.org, as follows:
• Rubin Museum of Art in New York City, acc. #F1997.9.1. A
• Erie Art Museum (accession number not given), also in very poor condition
• Tibet house Museum, New Delhi

Physical Description
A portable painting done in ink and gouache on loose-weave, primed cotton, surround by two strips of fabric. This painting has suffered greatly from water damage, running the pigments together.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
thangka

Collection Area
Asian

Rights
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Keywords
Himalayan
Vajrayana
damage
monks
portraits

& Author Notes

Web Use Permitted