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

  Reting Rinpoche Tenzin Jigme Thutob Wangchuk (1948-1997)

  Kism

  Philip J. Rudko

  Alice S. Kandell

• Origin

  Central Tibet

• Credit Line

  The Alice S. Kandell Collection

• Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Sackler Gallery 26a: The Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room

• Restrictions and Rights

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1650s, 1690s

• Name

  Jigme Thutob Wangchuk, Tenzin, Kandell, Alice S., Rudko, Philip J., Kism

• Place

  Tibet

• Topic

  Gilding, South Asian and Himalayan Art, Art, Inlay (process), Ta?ra? (Goddess), Sculpture, Alice S. Kandell Collection, Metal-work

• Culture

  Buddhists, Himalayan peoples, South Asians

• Object Type

  Sculpture

• On View

  Yes