Tara (one of the Famed Twenty-one Tara Emanations)

Object Details

Label

Tara is a bodhisattva—a perfected being who has postponed her ultimate enlightenment in order to assist humanity. The embodiment of compassion, she extends her left hand in a gesture of teaching and holds the kalasha vase of long life in her right hand. The lotus flowers tucked in the crooks of her arms represent her purity. On an altar within a lamplit monastery, her smiling face, painted in the cold-gold technique, would have looked like soft skin, and her gold, turquoise, and coral ornaments would have glimmered.

Provenance

?-early 1960

Reting Rinpoche Tenzin Jigme Thutob Wangchuk (1948-1997), Tibet [1]

Early 1960-early 1980s

Kism; her family, by gift or inheritance from Kism's uncle or grandfather, a secretary to Reting Rinpoche Tenzin Jigme Thutob Wangchuk [2]

Early 1980s-by late 1980s

Philip Rudko, purchased from Kism in New York, NY [3]

By late 1980s-2011

Alice S. Kandell, purchased from Philip Rudko in New York, NY [4]

From 2011

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, gift of Alice S. Kandell [5]

Notes:

[1] As abbot of Reting Monastery in Central Tibet, the Reting Rinpoche is an important Tibetan Buddhist leader whose role may include selection of the next Dalai Lama.

See acquisition proposal titled “Tara (One of the Famed Twenty-one Tara Emanations) Offered as a gift from Alice S. Kandell to the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery of Art,” 2011, copy in object file. The acquisition proposal states that the Reting Rinpoche sent his portable wealth out of Tibet in the early 1960s as a means to safeguard their cultural heritage and wealth.

[2] Kism’s grandfather or her uncle served as a secretary to the Reting Rinpoche Tenzin Jigme Thutob Wangchuk. See note 1. The 2011 acquisition proposal says that Kism is the “granddaughter of one of the Reting’s secretaries” and Kism “had homes in both New York City and Kathmandu.” See also notes from interview between Philip Rudko and Joanna M. Gohmann, November 6, 2020, see object file. According to Philip Rudko, Kism's uncle served as secretary to the Reting Rinpoche. Philip Rudko reports that he never learned Kism's last name and is unsure if Kism did in fact have a last name. Tibetan individuals around that time were reluctant to share their family name -- if they had one -- when selling objects like this one, as items like this typically stayed within a family. To this day, many Tibetans do not have last names.

[3] See note 1. The acquisition proposal states that Philip Rudko purchased this object directly from Kism. Philip Rudko, born just outside New York City in northern New Jersey, is a Russian Orthodox priest and art conservator, specializing in Tibetan objects. He works with the collector Alice Kandell as the curator of her personal collection.

[4] See note 1. Alice S. Kandell is a private collector, who for decades acquired hundreds of bronze sculptures, thangkas, textile banners, painted furniture and ritual implements. Her interest in Tibetan art and culture began during her college years, when she took the first of many trips to Sikkim, Tibet and Ladakh. Throughout her career as a child psychologist in New York, she continued to pursue her love of Tibetan Buddhist sacred art, traveling, collecting and documenting the art and culture of the region in two books of photography, “Sikkim: The Hidden Kingdom” (Doubleday) and “Mountaintop Kingdom: Sikkim” (Norton).

[5] See Deed of Gift, dated March 18, 2011, copy in object file.

Research Completed December 7, 2022

Collection

Arthur M. Sackler Collection

Exhibition History

The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room (March 12, 2022 - ongoing)

Encountering the Buddha: Art and Practice Across Asia (October 14, 2017 to February 6, 2022)

The Tibetan Shrine from the Alice S. Kandell Collection (March 13, 2010 to November 27, 2016)

Sculpture of South Asia and the Himalayas (May 4, 1988 to July 9, 2017)

Previous custodian or owner

Tenzin Jigme Thutob Wangchuk, Sixth Reting Rinpoche (1948-1997)

Kism

Phillip J. Rudko

Alice S. Kandell

Credit Line

The Alice S. Kandell Collection

Second half of 17th century

Accession Number

S2011.12a-c

Restrictions & Rights

Usage conditions apply

Type

Sculpture

Medium

Gilt copper alloy, turquoise, enamel, and coral

Dimensions

H x W: 48.3 x 31.8 cm (19 x 12 1/2 in)

Origin

Central Tibet

On View

Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

Related Online Resources

Google Cultural Institute

See more items in

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection

Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery

Topic

casting

gilding

inlay (process)

metal

Buddhism

Tibet

Tara

South Asian and Himalayan Art

Alice S. Kandell Collection

Record ID

fsg_S2011.12a-c

Metadata Usage (text)

Usage conditions apply

GUID (Link to Original Record)

http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye3102b430c-8f5c-4ab2-acc8-2182bd8d7c14