16th Oct, 2025 11:00
TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism
38
† AN EXTREMELY RARE THANGKA OF SHASTRADHARA (‘WEAPON-HOLDING’) HEVAJRA, TIBET, 15TH-16TH CENTURY
€10,000
€20,000
A buyer’s premium of 30.00% (including VAT) applies to the hammer price of this lot if your bid is successful.
Expert’s note: The present lot depicts Shastradhara Hevajra, a deity that is already very rarely seen, in a variation that is not recorded in any public or private collections. The stacked arrangement of the eight heads, rather than the more familiar scheme with a single upper head surmounting the other seven, is one distinguishing feature which in addition to the deity’s solitary presence, depicted without his consort, makes this thangka possibly unique, marking it as an exceptional witness to a specialized visualization lineage.
Inscriptions: To the reverse, 'Om Ah Hum' in Lantsa script.
This author highly recommends that interested bidders watch a video by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources’ YouTube channel titled ‘Hevajra: Unusual Forms’, published on 21 July 2023. With its single-figure composition and plain vermilion background, the current painting could plausibly have served as a panel within a larger initiation set or as a segment from a monumental wall thangka; however, the clean borders and lack of any truncated or partial elements suggest it was conceived as a self-contained work.
Distemper and gold on linen. Superbly painted, the four-legged deity dancing atop intertwined nagas over a multi-colored lotus base, holding a vajra and a kapala in his primary hands and an array of implements including a sword, conch, and trident in his other fourteen hands. Hevajra is clad in a tiger skin secured by a serpent belt as well as a finely patterned billowing scarf, and richly adorned with beaded festoons and gem-set gold jewelry. Seven of his eight faces are fierce with three large bulging eyes, flame-like beards and brows, and bared fangs, all below a head of Buddha Akshobhya.
Provenance: A French private collection. Zacke, Vienna, 25 April 2020, lot 384 (dated 17th-18th century or earlier and erroneously described as Chaturmukha Mahakala), sold for EUR 37,920 or approx. EUR 48,500 (adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A Nepalese private collection, acquired from the above.
Condition: Extensive old wear and pigment losses, creases and minor tears, some areas with small old touchups. In general, the condition is consistent with the age of this work.
Dimensions: 72 x 62 cm
Hevajra appears here in his Shastradhara (‘weapon-holding’) aspect: blue-skinned, eight-faced, sixteen-armed, and four-legged, he dances as he subdues nagas, each hand brandishing a distinct implement in place of the sixteen kapalas known from the Hevajra-Tantra type. A small Akshobhya at the crown confirms his Vajra-family affiliation. This presentation is described in the Samputa Tantra, with Abhayakaragupta’s Vajravali as the principal ritual source. Tibetan tradition holds that Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (1012–1096) especially practiced this Shastradhara form, which circulated in Tibet even before the thirteenth-century adoption of the Vajravali.
Literature comparison:
Compare two related thangkas depicting Shastradhara Hevajra, each in the more common form with a row of seven heads surmounted by one, one dated to the 15th century, illustrated by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 21049, and the other a Sakya School mandala dated to the 16th century in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1982.225. Compare a related thangka of Mahakala as Protector of the Tent, particularly the similar treatment of the eyes, nose, and beard, dated ca. 1500, 162.6 x 134.6 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2012.444.4.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2008, lot 662
Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 32,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A thangka of Hevajra, Tibet, 16th century
Expert remark: This painting of smaller size (31.7 x 28 cm) depicts the deity in the a more common aspect derived from the Hevajra Tantra, holding skullcups in place of the implements found in the present lot.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 771
Price: USD 56,250 or approx. EUR 68,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A thangka of Chaturmukha Mahakala, Tibet, 15th century
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of painting with similar expression, eyes, nose, and beard. Note the size (52 x 47.7 cm).
Expert’s note: The present lot depicts Shastradhara Hevajra, a deity that is already very rarely seen, in a variation that is not recorded in any public or private collections. The stacked arrangement of the eight heads, rather than the more familiar scheme with a single upper head surmounting the other seven, is one distinguishing feature which in addition to the deity’s solitary presence, depicted without his consort, makes this thangka possibly unique, marking it as an exceptional witness to a specialized visualization lineage.
Inscriptions: To the reverse, 'Om Ah Hum' in Lantsa script.
This author highly recommends that interested bidders watch a video by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources’ YouTube channel titled ‘Hevajra: Unusual Forms’, published on 21 July 2023. With its single-figure composition and plain vermilion background, the current painting could plausibly have served as a panel within a larger initiation set or as a segment from a monumental wall thangka; however, the clean borders and lack of any truncated or partial elements suggest it was conceived as a self-contained work.
Distemper and gold on linen. Superbly painted, the four-legged deity dancing atop intertwined nagas over a multi-colored lotus base, holding a vajra and a kapala in his primary hands and an array of implements including a sword, conch, and trident in his other fourteen hands. Hevajra is clad in a tiger skin secured by a serpent belt as well as a finely patterned billowing scarf, and richly adorned with beaded festoons and gem-set gold jewelry. Seven of his eight faces are fierce with three large bulging eyes, flame-like beards and brows, and bared fangs, all below a head of Buddha Akshobhya.
Provenance: A French private collection. Zacke, Vienna, 25 April 2020, lot 384 (dated 17th-18th century or earlier and erroneously described as Chaturmukha Mahakala), sold for EUR 37,920 or approx. EUR 48,500 (adjusted for inflation at the time of writing). A Nepalese private collection, acquired from the above.
Condition: Extensive old wear and pigment losses, creases and minor tears, some areas with small old touchups. In general, the condition is consistent with the age of this work.
Dimensions: 72 x 62 cm
Hevajra appears here in his Shastradhara (‘weapon-holding’) aspect: blue-skinned, eight-faced, sixteen-armed, and four-legged, he dances as he subdues nagas, each hand brandishing a distinct implement in place of the sixteen kapalas known from the Hevajra-Tantra type. A small Akshobhya at the crown confirms his Vajra-family affiliation. This presentation is described in the Samputa Tantra, with Abhayakaragupta’s Vajravali as the principal ritual source. Tibetan tradition holds that Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (1012–1096) especially practiced this Shastradhara form, which circulated in Tibet even before the thirteenth-century adoption of the Vajravali.
Literature comparison:
Compare two related thangkas depicting Shastradhara Hevajra, each in the more common form with a row of seven heads surmounted by one, one dated to the 15th century, illustrated by Jeff Watt on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 21049, and the other a Sakya School mandala dated to the 16th century in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 1982.225. Compare a related thangka of Mahakala as Protector of the Tent, particularly the similar treatment of the eyes, nose, and beard, dated ca. 1500, 162.6 x 134.6 cm, in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, object number 2012.444.4.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2008, lot 662
Price: USD 25,000 or approx. EUR 32,500 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A thangka of Hevajra, Tibet, 16th century
Expert remark: This painting of smaller size (31.7 x 28 cm) depicts the deity in the a more common aspect derived from the Hevajra Tantra, holding skullcups in place of the implements found in the present lot.
Auction result comparison:
Type: Related
Auction: Christie’s New York, 21 March 2012, lot 771
Price: USD 56,250 or approx. EUR 68,000 converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing
Description: A thangka of Chaturmukha Mahakala, Tibet, 15th century
Expert remark: Compare the related manner of painting with similar expression, eyes, nose, and beard. Note the size (52 x 47.7 cm).
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Auction: TWO-DAY AUCTION: Fine Asian Art, Buddhism and Hinduism, 16th Oct, 2025
Galerie Zacke is honored to present a major two-day live auction event, featuring 662 works of art from China, India, Southeast Asia, and beyond.
The highlight is our flagship live auction on Day 1 (lots 1-269), showcasing masterpieces of exceptional rarity and provenance. Among them are an absolutely perfect and thus extremely rare gilt and copper-red ‘Three Beasts’ bottle vase, Kangxi period, from the collection of Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony; a highly important archaic yellow jade bi disk, on an imperially inscribed zitan stand, from the personal collection of the Qianlong Emperor (Hongli); an extraordinary sandstone figure of Lakshmi-Narayana, Chandela period, 10th–12th century, from the collection of Jeremy Knowles; as well as an exceptional 23k gold ritual helmet, Western Eurasian Steppe, possibly Hellenistic or Scythian, from the Zelnik István Southeast Asian Gold Museum.
Day 2 (lots 270-662) continues with our general auction, offering seasoned collectors and new bidders alike an opportunity to enhance their collections. Learn more.
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