A TIBETAN THANGKA OF SONGTSEN GAMPO.

Tibet, Circa 19th Century.

The king seated cross-legged on a throne beneath a canopy with gold tassels, wearing an orange robe with cloud pattern, large earrings and a red headdress with a Buddha head finial, an incense burner, offerings of fruit and a coral branch in a vase laid out before him, a pile of books to his right and a bowl of fruit to his left, ink and colour on canvas, mounted in silk brocade, 59 x 37.5cm, total 131cm long.

西藏十九世紀 繪松讚干布唐卡

According to tradition, King Songtsen Gampo (569 - 649?), influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti brought Buddhism to Tibet. He was effectively the first ruler of Tibet after unifying several smaller local kingdoms and is credited for contributing to creating the Tibetan script and development of the Classical Tibetan language.