Lot 221. A rare large yellow-ground silk brocade 'vajradhatu' square mandala, Early 15th century 190.5cm (75 1/2in) x 194cm (76 3/8in). Sold for £ 35,250 (€ 41,919) (Est: £30,000 - £50,000). © Bonhams 2001-2021

Finely woven with large blossoming lotus issuing from a continuous meander and scrolling foliage, each flower supporting a different Tibetan character executed in gold script woven in flat gilded paper, forming the 'Offering of the Universe' mantra reading from the centre to the east, south, west and north, all on a yellow ground and within a double gilt border. 

Provenance: Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., London
An English private collection.

Published and Illustrated: Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., Chinese, Indian and South-East Asian Textiles, London, 2007, pp.10-11.

Note: Finely woven with gold a profusion of blossoming lotus issuing from scrolling tendrils and Lanca characters from 'Offering of the Universe', a Sanskrit mandala, the present panel would have been used as a visual support for meditation purposes. The characters read from the centre, then to the east, south, west and north, and finally the other directions.

'Lampas' weave is amongst the most complex forms of weave structure, requiring an elaborate and heavy loom. It was introduced to China from the west during the Yuan dynasty, and was only used in professional workshops and in particular those catering to the Imperial Court. Such meditation hangings were made as Imperial gifts to abbots of leading Tibetan monasteries and to Buddhist monasteries within China. The practice of giving such gifts was at its peak in the 14th and 15th centuries; see Jacqueline Simcox Ltd., Chinese, Indian and South-East Asian Textiles, London, 2007, pp.10-11.

For Tibetans, and Buddhists in general, the east direction is the West's south direction, indicating that the beginning of the weaving was regarded as the east, where the sun rises, and the finish of the weaving, at the top, was the West, where the sun sets and the weaving ends. A weaving would thus be interpreted as symbolic of life: a work from start to finish, or from life to death, or from sunrise to sunset.

Shown at the centre is the seed syllable for Vairocana, one of the five Dhyani Buddhas, with the four other buddhas in the group placed around the centre, interspersed with four goddesses who act as consorts to the Buddhas, and with four further goddesses, acting as assistants, placed in the corners. There would have been eight offering goddesses in all.

Bonhams. Fine Chinese Art: Including Imperial and Court Textiles Curated by Linda Wrigglesworth, London, 2 november 2021