Lot 363 , A thangka depicting Buddha Shakyamuni, Tibet, 18th/19th century, Total dimensions 123cm x 75cm, tears

A thangka depicting Buddha Shakyamuni, Tibet, 18th/19th century, the central figure surrounded by the two foremost students Shariputra and Maudgalyayana, the 16 Arhats (luohan), Dharmata, Hvashang and the Kings of the Four Directions, image 64.5cm x 42cm, with floral brocade borders and silk cover, scroll mounted, Total dimensions 123cm x 75cm, tears
Estimate £300-500

Provenance - The Pestalozzi International Foundation collection of Tibetan thangkas, Buddhist figures and ritual objects.

In 1947, the British Pestalozzi Children's Village association was founded by Dr Henry Alexander - a German, Jewish, refugee who moved to the UK before the Second World War - and Mrs Mary Buchanan - a British sociologist. In 1959 the organisation opened a 170 acre property in Sedlescombe, East Sussex to house and educate children from displaced persons camps in Europe at the end of World War II.
In 1963, twenty-two Tibetan students, along with their house parents, arrived at the village. In 1967/68 saw the last of the European students at Pestalozzi and from that point students from Tibet, India and Nepal - amongst other countries - began to arrive. The Tibetan children and their house parents rescued Buddhist thangkas (paintings) and relics from the local temples during the upheavals of the 1960s which are included in this sale. The collection also includes Buddhist figures of deities from China, Burma and Thailand. The funds raised will help Pestalozzi to continue to offer educational scholarships to children from under-privileged countries.

The thangka has some major damage and tears going down through the centre of the image of Buddha and upper left upper right to the left and right of the figure and below and there is some complete losses to the cotton ground upper right, the brocade borders have some age to them, may be contemporary, have some discolouration and wear and there is a smaller thangka attached on the left hand side which is probably 19th / 20th century, the scroll has brass ends and it has its silk cover which is stained and freyed at the top and all over.


Descriptions provided in both printed and on-line catalogue formats do not include condition reports. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging. Interested bidders are strongly encouraged to request a condition report on any lots upon which they intend to bid, prior to placing a bid. All transactions are governed by Gorringes Conditions of Sale.

Sold for £300