Antique Tibetan Tsakli Set of 4 Initiation Cards Begtse Protector Hand Painted For Sale

Antique Tibetan Tsakli Set of 4 Initiation Cards Begtse Protector Hand Painted Mantras on Back

Description:

A set of four antique Tibetan tsakli, the small hand-painted initiation cards used by a lama during empowerment ceremonies, each one a miniature thangka in its own right. Three are painted in mineral pigments on primed cloth with red borders; one is painted on paper. All four carry Tibetan writing on the front or back, applied when they were consecrated for use.

Card 1, the largest (about 4 x 3 inches): the protector Begtse, red-bodied and armored in a coat of mail, with a five-skull crown, three eyes and bared fangs, standing in a blaze of orange flame against a deep blue sky. He raises a sword in his right hand and presses a fresh heart to his mouth with his left, and tramples a green horse and a human corpse on a sun disc over a lotus. The painting is confident and precise, the flames gilded. Red Tibetan syllables on the back.

Card 2 (about 3 x 2.5 inches): a black-ground painting of a dark blue wrathful rider on a white horse, galloping across a corpse with a green-and-red backrest and a parasol above, the ground filled with fine gold cloud scrollwork. A protector in the Mahakala family. Three lines of red Tibetan script on the back.

Card 3 (about 3 x 2.5 inches): a golden Buddha figure in a red robe and blue scarf, seated on a pink lotus before an orange aureole of fine radiating lines and a green halo, a blue sky with pink and white clouds above, a red offering bowl at his shoulder. Faint script on the back.

Card 4 (about 4 x 2.5 inches, on paper): a ritual card showing a jeweled ceremonial spear or banner and a black offering vessel, with a Tibetan inscription across the top naming the object. Cards like this represent offerings or implements in a ritual sequence.

Together the four are a working cross-section of a lama's set: a protector, a wrathful rider, a peaceful Buddha and a ritual offering. They frame beautifully as a group in a single mat, or sit in a display case.

Condition: age-appropriate wear throughout. The cloth cards have soft fraying at the edges, small losses to the red borders, light surface rubbing and spots of pigment loss; the black-ground rider card is the most worn, with abrasion to the horse and rider and staining on the reverse. The Begtse card is the strongest, with bright color and gold and only minor edge wear. The paper card has two soft folds and light foxing. No repainting anywhere. Every card is photographed front and back.

Ships flat between rigid boards in a padded mailer, insured, within one business day. Worldwide shipping with tracking.

Item specifics: Region of Origin: Tibet · Material: Cloth, paper, mineral pigments, gold · Subject: Begtse, dharmapala, tsakli, initiation card · Handmade: Yes · Original/Reproduction: Original · Quantity: 4

Photos: the group front and back (you have both already); each card alone, filling the frame; Begtse's face; the sword and heart; the horse and corpse; the gold scrollwork on the rider card; the back inscriptions, close and sharp; a ruler shot with all four.