Finely woven with two skeletons standing in unity on conch shells atop a lotus pillow, holding a skull club, a kapala, a kundika, and a medicinal plant. The thangka is centered by the circular yantra with a lengthy inscription and decorated with flame, vajra, and floral designs.

Provenance: The Triay Collection of Himalayan Art. Ian Triay is a Spanish banking executive and the Honorary Consul in Spain for the Kingdom of Bhutan. He actively participated in the establishment of diplomatic relations between Spain and Bhutan and in projects of mutual interest to both countries. Assembled over a period of 40 years with an eye for the unusual and esoteric, the Triay Collection was a unique assemblage of Himalayan art. With many works featured in the landmark exhibitions in the Fundación "La Caixa", Madrid in 2000, Musée Guimet, Paris in 2002, Los Angeles County Museum of Art in 2003, and the Rubin Museum of Art in New York in 2010, this collection shines a fascinating light on Buddhist ritual art. A particular focus in the collection was the Chitipati. In the Tibetan Buddhist artistic traditions, graphic images of death and the afterlife – an area which is of particular fascination to the collector – are used as reminders that life is fleeting and that we must act virtuously.
Condition: Good condition with old wear, traces of age and usage, little soiling, loose threads.

Dimensions: Image size 46 x 33 cm, Size incl. mounting 83.5 x 51.5 cm

Chitipati are a divine skeleton couple also and initially known as Shri Shmashana Adhipati, "the lord and lady of the charnel ground." They act as protector deities, particularly against thieves and grave robbers, vowing to destroy enemies of the Dharma. They are closely associated with the Chakrasamvara Tantra and visually represented as intertwined jovial skeletal figures, each holding various attributes, dancing in a halo of wild flames. Their wrathful and skeletal appearance can be likened to a momento mori, acting as a reminder of death and the temporality of all things. As macabre lords of the cremation grounds, they serve to remind Tibetans of the inevitability of death and decay, while at the same time, to celebrate one's ultimate liberation from duality. A much beloved subject in Tibetan Buddhism, the Chitipati are represented on thangkas and appliques, in sculpture, on wooden shrines and furniture, and as elaborate costumes worn during ceremonial dances (Cham), in a visual type that becomes standardized for centuries.

Memento mori (Latin for 'remember that you die') is an artistic or symbolic trope acting as a reminder of the inevitability of death. The concept has its roots in the philosophers of classical antiquity and appeared in art and architecture from the medieval period onwards. The most common motif is a skull, often accompanied by one or more bones, or a complete skeleton. Often this alone is enough to evoke the trope, but sometimes other motifs such as a coffin, hourglass and wilting flowers were added to signify the impermanence of human life.

From Leonardo to Basquiat, the most important artists of the modern world were fascinated by the Memento Mori trope. Likewise, the Chitipati are a reminder of the eternal cycle of life and death. Furthermore, there is a mind training practice in Tibetan Buddhism known as Lojong, the 'Four Contemplations to Cause a Revolution in the Mind'. The second of these four is the contemplation of impermanence and death. In particular, one contemplates that:

All compounded things are impermanent,
The human body is a compounded thing,
Therefore, death of the body is certain,
The time of death is uncertain and beyond our control.

There are a number of classic verse formulations of these contemplations meant for daily reflection to overcome our strong habitual tendency to live as though we will certainly not die today.

Literature comparison:
Compare an earlier Tibetan painted thangka of the Chitipati, dated to the 15^th century, in the Rubin Museum of Art, object number F1996.16.5. Compare a related painted Chitipati yantra, dated 1900-1959, in the collection of Richard R. and Magdalena Ernst, Himalayan Art Resources item no. 18430.



十九世紀蒙古唐卡屍林怙主唐卡
精細編織而成，本尊呈骷髏骨架形態，白色，父母本尊各有一張臉，三隻紅眼睛和兩隻手。左邊的父尊用右手高舉一根骷髏棒，左手在心臟位置捧著一個顱碗，穿著老虎皮，站在海螺殼上。母尊高舉的右手拿著一株麥穗，左手拿著一個像徵財富的寶瓶，穿著各種絲綢，站在貝殼上。兩者都頭飾五骷髏冠。

來源：喜瑪拉雅藝術 Triay Collection收藏。Ian Triay是西班牙銀行業高管和不丹王國駐西班牙名譽領事。他積極參與了西班牙與不丹的建交以及兩國共同關心的項目。 歷時 40 年，Triay 系列著眼於不尋常和抽象的事物，是喜馬拉雅藝術的獨特組合。許多藏品曾在 2000 年馬德里“La Caixa”基金會、2002 年巴黎吉美博物館、2003 年洛杉磯藝術博物館和 2010年紐約魯賓藝術博物館的展覽中展出，使佛教儀式藝術的迷人的光芒閃耀世界。該收藏的一個特別焦點是屍林主。 在藏傳佛教藝術傳統中，死亡和來世的象徵——收藏家特別著迷的一個領域——被用來提醒人們生命轉瞬即逝，我們必須行善。
品相：狀況良好，有磨損、歲月痕跡和使用痕跡，輕微汙漬，線頭鬆動。

尺寸：畫面 46 x 33 釐米，總83.5 x 51.5 釐米

屍林怙主也是一對神聖的骷髏夫婦，最初被稱為雙身屍陀林主。屍陀林主是葬場的主神，掌管和守護屍陀林(墓園)的護法神，他們看管廣大的墓園，只要有屍陀林主，墳墓裏的鬼怪、陰靈等都不會亂闖民居。屍陀林主是空行母的保護者，並護持獨處屍林或墳地中修行之佛弟子，所以亦是佛教護法之一。他們的憤怒相和骷髏外觀可以比作死亡時刻，提醒死亡和萬物的暫時性。 作為墓地的主神，他們提醒藏人死亡和腐朽的必然性，同時慶祝一個人從二元性中最終解放。屍林怙主是藏傳佛教中深受喜愛的題材，出現在唐卡和貼花、雕塑、木製神龕和傢俱上，以及在儀式舞蹈中穿著的精美服裝，其視覺類型幾個世紀以來的已經標準化。

文獻比較：
比較一件較早的十五世紀西藏屍林怙主唐卡，收藏於Rubin Museum of Art，館藏編號F1996.16.5。比較一幅相近的1900-1959年彩繪屍林怙主 ，收藏於Richard R.和Magdalena Ernst，Himalayan Art ，資源編號18430。