QING DYNASTY

Modeled with bulging eyes and pointed canines below a crown of skeletal heads, dressed in a flowing scarf and skirt with traces of pigment, holding a skull cup and various other attributes as the deities dance with one leg bent and the other standing on an auspicious conch above its pedestal.

In essence, Cittipati are often referred to as the lords of the funeral pyre and the Tibetans regard them us benevolence deities. According to their belief system, the connotation behind a skeleton may not be entirely negative, as death entices one to contemplate upon the concept of impermanence and simultaneously prelude the cycle of reincarnation. The rarity of the present lot predicates upon the meticulous details of the figures elaborate headdress and drapery, which are connotative of the prestigious status of the dancing deities. According to popular Tibetan folklore, the Cittipati performs the Tsan dance on the cremation ground and this is an important subject matter often depicted on the monastery paintings in Lhasa and other sacred Tibetan art. For instance, it is depicted in an important Yama-offering thangka (Fig.1). The two skeletons, presumably Citipati, dance as they circumambulate the choten. Compare with two other thankas featuring the two deities and dated to the Qianlong reign (Fig. 2 and 3), currently residing at the National Palace Museum, illustrated in Thangkas of the Palace Museum, The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1996, pl. 42 and pl.43, pp. 48-49.

H 39.5 cm