A GROUP OF FIVE TSAKLI OF VARIOUS BUDDHIST DEITIES TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY

A GROUP OF FIVE TSAKLI OF VARIOUS BUDDHIST DEITIES TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item nos. 1887, 1888, 1889, 1890 & 1891 4 1/2 x 4 in. (11.4 x 10.2 cm) each approx. Footnotes: 西藏 十三/十四世紀 微型佛畫五幅 This group of early initiation cards (tsakli), comprises paintings of Achala and four worldly protectors. The depicted standing form of Achala was popularized by the Kadam order, founded by Atisha (982-1054). It was later replaced by a kneeling form promulgated by the Sakya, come the 14th century, thereby serving to attribute this group to the 13th/14th century. A somewhat related illuminated Kalachakra Tantra manuscript sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 24 May 2021, lot 2, has a colophon placing it in the 14th century. Tsaklis are Buddhist or Bon ritual miniature paintings made on paper, cloth, or woodblock prints, commonly referred to as 'initiation cards'. Averaging between 3 to 7 inches in size, these paintings usually follow a unique iconographic program depicting buddhas, bodhisattvas, protector deities, siddhas, lamas, attributes, or ritual objects as a fully contained set. Recorded in the Tanjur, a canon comprising treatises and commentaries on Buddhist doctrine, tsaklis were first described by the monk Anandagarbha during the 11th century, who discusses the, 'tsa ka li of the body,' in relation to a physical manifestation of a deity and its use as a visual aid in meditative practice. Tsakli are understood to relate to the following ritual activities: 1) initiation and empowerment rites; 2) the consecration of images, or to mark or protect a temple; 3) as a substitute for deities or ritual materials; 4) for protective amulets; 5) as aids in meditational practices to help invoke deities. Provenance Private European Collection, acquired October 1998 For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com For further information about this lot please visit the lot listing