Fig. 13.8 Mandala of Kālacakra 1569–1602 21 ½ x 19 ½ in. (54.6 x 49.5 cm) Collection of R. R. E. Literature: Rhie and Thurman 1991, 481, no. 237 (156b); Ernst 2001, fig. 9a; and Jackson 2010, fig. 8.20
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contemporaneous pieces can be done once two or three examples have been properly documented.
Examples of Class A A painting in the A class typically has a colophon-like inscription that specifies the name of the patron, his teacher, or both. Ideally, this inscription is confirmed by a labeled lineage. A thangka is class A only if the names of its historical figures have been properly identified.628 The first example of a class A painting is Figure 13.8. Its date is established by a brief inscription at the bottom, which states that it was reverently commissioned by the Drangti monk Namkha Palzang in memory of his deceased teacher, Vajradhara Sanggye Sengge. Since the latter died in 1569
and the patron died in 1602, the painting can be confidently dated to the period between those years. Figure 13.9, another example of a class A thangka, has a rich historical background from Tibet; it has also been discussed at some length as the subject of a 1980s legal suit in Switzerland concerning possible forgery.629 The basic problem of the case, as now, was how to date the painting reliably. Several expert witnesses submitted widely differing dates to the court, in part because the thangka contained both distinctly earlier and later stylistic elements, which nobody could explain. Basing their dates mainly on style, the experts could reach no consensus; they did not, however, refer to the rich internal historical evidence present in the painting in the form of inscriptions and lineages.630 I will first present the inscriptions and lineage structure of this thangka, shown in Diagram [N], and then interpret these within the historical context of the tradition that produced the painting. The inscriptions identify the main figures (27 and 28) as Ngor abbots and include a verse in praise of Kunga Wangchuk (27): rgyud sde kun gyi de nyid gzigs// smin grol dga’ ston phyogs bcur ’gyed// phrin las dbang phyug ’dul ba yi// ’dren pa dam pa de la ’dud//. The second verse, in praise of Gorampa (28), begins: rgya chen bsod nams lus stobs rab rgyas te// de gshegs gsung rab seng ge’i nga ro yi// log smra’i ri dags mtha’. The second verse is incomplete. A smaller inscription to the bottom right names the thangka’s patron and explains his purpose: lam ’bras [b]rgyud pa’i kha skong ’di rig pa ’dzin pa lha mchog seng ges bzhengs// “This continuation of the Path with the Fruit lineage thangkas was made by the mantra practitioner Lhachok Sengge.” The last four teachers in the lineage are: 27. rJe btsun Kunga Wangchuk (1424–1478)