A Mongolian thangka depicting the nine Drala brothers, 19th century.
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Central motif with Drala Tatug Karpo on horseback, above him a snow lion and a tiger, the worldly gods are watched over by the powerful Vajrapani who is depicted with a flaming mandorla. Flanked on each side with a total of eight warriors/brothers with banners. Before them an altar table with offerings, banners and animal hides. In front of that horses, goats, a dog and a camel. Measurement 51x72 cm. Measurement with silk passepartout 67x96 cm.
Wear.
Provenance
Swedish private collection.
Exhibitions
Also compare a thankga sold at Bonhams, the Robert and Jean-Pierre Rousset Collection of Asian Art, Paris, 2022. Lot 73.
Compare another of this deity sold at Sothebys, Indian, Himalayan And Southeast Asian Art
17 March 2015 • New York, lot 105.
For closely related examples, see one in the American Museum of Natural History and another in a private collection, published in Himalayan Art Resources (HAR#94256 and 12905).
Literature
For a similar work, see Auboyer and Béguin, Dieux et démons de l'Himâlaya, Paris, 1977, p. 200, pl. 225.
Also GW Essen, T. T. Thingko, Die Götter des Himalaya, München, 1989, Vol II, p. 218, pl. 452.
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 12905
More information
Drala, the Nine Enemy God Brothers (Tibetan: dra la che gu): Drala is a class of indigenous gods inhabiting the Himalayas, Tibet and Central Asia. They are found in both the Bon and Buddhist religions. In Tibetan Buddhism, the Drala are said to have been subjugated and then forced into the service of Buddhism as worldly protector gods by the 8th century Indian teacher Padmasambhava. The Tibetan word 'drala' is considered to be a Tibetan Buddhist word having been changed from the word 'drabla' used in the Bon Religion and referring to a 'life god' associated with a person, tribe or place. See a depiction of Dralha Yesi Gyalpo the special protector and 'life god' of the Bon Religion founder Tonpa Shenrab - when he was a mere boy - according the early life stories.