Unknown
(Tibet)
- Title
- Karma Pa and consort
- Place of origin
-
Southern Tibet →
Tibet
- Year
- 17th century-18th century
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- gouache on cotton
- Dimensions
-
10.5 x 9.2cm
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Gift of Marie-Francoise Fatton 2000
- Accession number
- 17.2000
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
'Tsakali' are painted 'initiation cards' unique to the Tibetan tradition. Unlike 'thangkas', these icons are images in miniature which focus on one aspect or attribute of a deity. A set of cards forms a mandala of images and is employed in various ritual situations including the transmission of teachings, as aids for meditation, in funerary rites and as substitutes for ritual objects when they are difficult to obtain. The two 'tsakalis' illustrated here are most likely from the same set. Each card is rendered in flat, primary colours, with the image composed of simple shapes outlined with fluid black lines. They have both been consecrated with the mantra of the deity inscribed on the back.
The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.66.
- Bibliography (3)
-
The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 66 (colour illus.).
Dawn Hall (United States of America) (Editor), Tibet: Tradition and Change, Albuquerque, 1998, 195, 277. General reference; see plates 97 a-d in article by P. Pal for comparable pieces.
Pratapaditya Pal (Bangladesh; United States of America, b.1935) (Author), The art of Tibet, New York, 1969, 52. General reference; see page 52 for comparable piece.
