Authentic antique Tibetan Buddhist Thangka, depicting one of the Sixteen Great Arhats (enlightened disciples of the Buddha). The hand-painted piece, executed with pigment on cotton, showcases classic Sino-Tibetan artistic influences, blending spiritual iconography with a stylized natural landscape, and delicate details. The Arhat is portrayed as a wizened sage, seated by a cave in a secluded mountain landscape wearing traditional red monastic robes, and holding a fly whisk with a long handle in his left hand. The sacred fly whisk represents purification and the sweeping away of ignorance or mental afflictions. In Tibetan Buddhist iconographic tradition, only three Arhats has this significant attribute: Angaja, Vanavasin, and Vajriputra. Positioned at the bottom right, the deer is a traditional Buddhist symbol of longevity and the Buddha’s first teaching at Deer Park. Shown at the bottom left, two geese/cranes symbolize longevity and peacefulness. A small, red Amitabha Buddha figure rests in the clouds in the upper-left corner, signifying spiritual lineage, a common innovation in Tibetan Arhat thangkas. Item: Antique Tibetan Buddhist Thangka. Angaja, Vanavasin, or Vajriputra. Set Number: The only known survivor out a set of 16 paintings. Date: Early 19th Century. Material: Pigment on Cotton. : 7.5×12.75 inches (19×15 cm). This is a delicate antique textile displaying authentic patina and wear. Significant age-related wear, including paint loss, fraying, fading, and tearing along the borders. The overall composition-including the small secondary Buddha figure-is a standard element in larger sets of sixteen Arhat thangkas. This is the only known survivor of one such set. In early Buddhism, the Sixteen Arhats were those who had followed the path taught by the Buddha, and achieved release from the cycle of birth and death, or samsara. In later Mahayana traditions, the Arhats were understood as a set group of disciples to the historical Buddha Shakyamuni, and an artistic tradition arose that depicted them as wizened sages with exaggerated features.
