Expert’s note:
There is a common belief in Mongolia that Zanabazar instructed his students to depict him in drawings and sculptures holding a vajra scepter and bell if the image is intended to be seen by religious practitioners. For the general population of Mongolia he instructed that he be shown cutting a leg of mutton with a knife, as seen on the present lot.

Mongolia. Gold and distemper on cloth. Finely painted featuring Yeshe Dorje seated on a throne, clad in monastic robes, his hands cutting a leg of mutton with a knife, backed by a green aureole below a canopy, and with tables filled with offerings before him.

Provenance: From a European private collection.
Condition: Good condition with minor wear, creasing, little soiling, and browning.

Dimensions: Image size 15 x 12 cm, size incl. frame 25.3 x 22.1 cm

Framed behind glass.

Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar (1635-1723, born Eshidorji) was the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu and the first Bogd Gegeen or supreme spiritual authority of the Gelugpa (Yellow Hat) lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in Mongolia. He was an important Mongolian religious figure and personal guru to the Kangxi Emperor (1654-1722). The son of Khalkha Tushyetü Khan, leader of the Khalkha Mongols, Zanabazar was at an early age recognized by both the Panchen Lama and Dalai Lama as the reincarnation of the Tibetan lama Taranatha (1575-1634), and proclaimed the First Jetsundamba, an honorific title. He traveled to Tibet to continue his religious instruction under the powerful Gelugpa lamas before returning to Mongolia in 1651, bringing fifty sculptors and painters with him in an attempt to establish the Gelug order amongst the Mongols. Rather than settle at one established monastery, his portable temples traveled from one örgöö (traveling place) to another, in what became known as Da Khuree (Great Circle).

During his time as religious leader of the Khalkha Mongols, Zanabazar oversaw a proliferation of Buddhist art in the region. He is especially known for his visualization and design of gilt bronze sculpture, subsequently carried out by master Nepalese bronze casters, which are widely recognized as some of the finest Buddhist bronze sculpture created.

In 1691, faced with the threat of the rival Dzungar Mongols, Zanabazar agreed to integrate the Khalkha into the Qing Empire, at a ceremony before the Kangxi Emperor at Dolonnor Monastery. While Zanabazar had previously sent tribute and religious gifts to Kangxi, the formal ceremony solidified the relationship between the two men. In later life, Zanabazar acted as the personal religious teacher to Kangxi in Beijing. With the help of his guru, the Emperor took an increasing interest in Buddhism and established a tradition of Imperial propagation of Buddhist art that continued into the reigns of his son and grandson, the Yongzheng and Qianlong Emperors.

Today, Zanabazar is viewed as one of Mongolia's most important historical figures, celebrated for propagating Tibetan Buddhism throughout Mongolia while reshaping it to fit Mongolian sensibilities, thereby establishing for the Mongols a unique cultural identity. His artistic works are generally regarded as the apogee of Mongolian aesthetic development and spawned a cultural renaissance among Mongols in the late 17th century. Even during the country's socialist era (1921-1991) he was acknowledged to be a prominent scholar (his religious roles quietly discarded) and recognized for his artistic and cultural achievements. As a political personality, however, socialist authorities portrayed Zanabazar as a traitor and deceiver of the masses, responsible for the loss of Mongolian sovereignty to the Manchu. In the post socialist era, however, there has been a reevaluation of his image to where his actions in negotiating the Khalkha's submission to the Qing are considered to have been in the long term interests of Mongolia, and he is generally exonerated for his role in 1691.

Literature comparison:
Compare two related thangkas of Zanabazar dated to the 19^th century in the Rubin Museum of Art, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item numbers 65720 and 1089.

Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Galerie Zacke Vienna, 11 March 2022, lot 526
Price: EUR 1,896 or approx. EUR 2,100 adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: An important thangka depicting Zanabazar, 19th century
Expert remark: Note the size (32 x 21.5 cm).