Une peinture d'offrandes à dPal-ldan dmag-zor rgyal-ma

Abstract

This study intends to describe a beautiful painting of offerings (tibetan : rgyan- tshogs) kept in a french private collection and painted on white cloth in the XIXth century. That rgyan-tshogs is dedicated to a form of dPal-ldan lha-mo (Çrîdevî) : dPal-ldan dmag-zor rgyal-ma. dPal-ldan lha-mo is one of the chos-skyong (skt. dharmapâla). These belonged to a pantheon of pre-buddhist deities and were first accepted then transformed by Buddhism into terrific keepers of the Law. That large thanka (h. 0,80 m ; w. 1,60 m) has a framing imitating brocade and painted in " trompe-l'Oeil ". At the top of the painting, from a kind of gruesome anopy hang human and animal hides held by snakes, with raven flying around. In the middle, above a rkyang are represented the clothes, the ornaments, the attributes of dPal-ldan dmag-zor rgyal- ma offered to her. Thanks to a tibetan text or bskang-gso used in ceremonies of the same name, we have a very precise description of that divinity and of many offerings, reserved to terrific deities, contained in human skulls, as well as an armour, weapons, musical instruments and black animals. These animals (black birds, sheep, yaks, horses, dogs) wild or domestic, belong to the court of dPal-ldan dmag-zor rgyal-ma, are called spyan-gzigs and are supposed to be her guardians. Round her mount are more peculiar animals belonging also to her court, but that are her messengers (pho-nya). Underneath is represented the palace of Mount Meru dwelling of the gods. Numerous musical instruments are represented around the armour and the weapons. Some of them are not tibetan, for instance the mouth-organ or the Chinese carillon... It may indicate that the painting belong to a monastery under Chinese influence. This is confirmed by some stylistic features as the treatment of the black horses or of some beautiful coloured birds.