by: Jörg Heimbel

Preliminary Observations on Commissioning Sculpture Sets of Lamdre Lineage Masters in Late 15th-Century Mustang

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This post is inspired by a gilded sculpture of Nairātmyā (bDag med ma; ca. 25–30 cm in height) that recently came to my attention (Fig 1). Although it is now part of a monastic collection in Kham (Khams), an inscription on the top of the pedestal reveals that the sculpture originated in Mustang (Glo bo), on the other side of the Tibetan Plateau (Fig. 2). The Mustang context, and a comparative analysis of the inscription, suggest that the sculpture was not conceived as a stand-alone commission, but was once part of a set that most likely represented the lineage masters of the Lamdre (Lam ’bras) instructions. Previous research by Christian Luczanits and Hans-Werner Klohe has identified a corpus of over 120 sculptures from at least five such sets of Lamdre lineage master sculptures in the collection of the Sakya monastery of Namgyel (rNam rgyal) in Mustang: two are made of metal most likely at the end of the 15th century and three are made of papier-mâché-like materials in the 16th century.1 In this post, I present evidence for several more sets of metal castings from Mustang (Sets 1–5), all of which are estimated to date from around the last two decades of the 15th century based on inscribed sculptures and literary sources. I also include the two metal sets from Namgyal to conclude this survey.  

Set 1: A Funerary Commission for Agön Zangpo by his Wife Pelkyong

The inscription, which is rather unusually engraved on the top of the sculpture’s pedestal, contains important historical information. It clarifies that the sculpture of Nairātmyā was made as a funerary commission for Agön Zangpo (A mgon bzang po, ca. 1420–1482), the 2nd king of Mustang, by his wife Pelkyong (dPal skyong).

Fig. 1Fig. 2

Inscription in Tibetan

རྗེ་བཙུན་རྡོ་རྗེ་བདག་མེད་མ་ལ།      
བདག་དཔལ་སྐྱོང་པྱག་འཚལ་ལོ།།
ཆོས་རྒྱལ་ཨ་མགོན་བཟང་པོའི་ཐུགས་དགོངས་རྫོགས་པར་གྱུར་ཅིག།

Inscription in Transliteration

rje btsun rdo rje bdag med ma la|
bdag dpal skyong pyag ’tshal lo||
chos rgyal a mgon bzang po’i thugs dgongs rdzogs par gyur cig|

Pelkyong was the mother of Lowo Khenchen Sönam Lhündrup (Glo bo mKhan chen bSod nams lhun grub, 1456–1532), the well-known princely Sakya scholar-monk. His biographies provide some details about his mother. Her name is given as Pelkyong and she is introduced as the daughter of the khyim po che ba of Purang (Pu hrangs), from the line of Takra Lukhong (sTag ra Klu khong) of the Ngenlam (Ngan lam) clan; Takra Lukhong served as councillor of the interior to Tri Song Detsen (Khri Srong lde brtsan, 742–ca. 800).2

According to the Royal Succession of Mustang (i.e., the rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes), Agön Zangpo took as his wife a sister (lcam mo) of the king of Guge (Gu ge) when he was fifteen years old.3 Therefore, Pelkyong might have been Agön Zangpo’s second wife, but it is unclear whether she was the mother of all four of his sons, which played important roles in the history of Mustang:

  1. Tashi Gön (bKra shis mgon, ca. 1445–1489), the 3rd king of Mustang
  2. Aseng Dorje Tenpa (A seng rDo rje brtan pa, d. ca. 1496) aka Achok Sengge Dorje Tenpa (A mchog seng ge rDo rje brtan pa), the 4th king of Mustang
  3. Lowo Khenchen Sönam Lhündrup (Glo bo mKhan chen bSod nams lhun grub, 1456–1532), the Sakya scholar-monk
  4. Delek Gyatso (bDe legs rgya mtsho, d. ca. 1500), the 5th king, who until the death of Aseng Dorje Tenpa had apparently lived the life of a monk before becoming involved in worldly affairs4

The sculpture of Nairātmyā is Agön Zangpo’s first identifiable funerary commission. Unfortunately, I have found no record of the objects made as his funerary commission in the literary corpus of texts about Mustang’s royal family or in related sources. The Royal Succession of Mustang merely states that it would be impossible to elaborate on them because the methods employed to fulfil his wishes (thugs dgongs rdzogs pa’i thabs mdzad pa) were so vast and numerous that they were unprecedented in all three time, etc. and should be known from other sources. Nevertheless, I would assume that the sculpture (and its associated set) was commissioned in the year of Agön Zangpo’s death, which is recorded as the 4th day of the 3rd month in 1482, or shortly afterwards.5 

As Nairātmyā sculptures were usually made as part of sets depicting the Lamdre lineage masters, it is very likely that this sculpture was once part of such a set. If so, it can be directly linked to the establishment of the Sakya school in Mustang, largely through the activities of Ngorchen Künga Zangpo (Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po, 1382–1456). At the invitation of the first two kings of Mustang, Ngorchen made three journeys to their newly established kingdom. The first took place while he was still based at Sakya (1427–1428)—when he was invited by Amapal (A ma dpal, ca. 1388–1440s), the father of Agön Zangpo and the 1st king of Mustang—and the other two visits (1436–1437 and 1447–1449) occurred after he had founded his own monastic seat at Ngor in 1429. Through the combined efforts of Ngorchen and members of the royal house of Mustang, Buddhism was established on a large monastic scale, and close ties were forged with the Sakya school in general and its Ngor branch in particular. Ngorchen himself also taught the Lamdre on several occasions during his stays in Mustang and ordained the king Amapal.6

Moreover, the renowned Jamchen (Byams chen) temple in the capital of Mustang, Möntang (sMon thang), was apparently constructed during the decade between Ngorchen’s second and third visits under the patronage of Agön Zangpo. A set of sculptures depicting the Lamdre lineage masters was installed in the uppermost chapel of the temple, known as the Utse (dBu rtse). The temple, including the sculptures, was consecrated by Ngorchen during his third visit. References to these sculptures appear to constitute the earliest record of the commissioning of such a set in Mustang. Another set of twenty-one Lamdre lineage master sculptures with inlays was installed in the cubical part (Skt. harmikā, Tib. bre) above the main dome of a Tashi Gomang Stūpa (bKra shis sgo smang) in Möntang. As Ngorchen is number 21 in the standard Lamdre lineage of Ngor, the set might have ended with his depiction. Along with seven stūpas of the victorious ones (rgyal ba’i mchod rten bdun), the Tashi Gomang Stūpa is said to have been commissioned in gilt copper by Tashi Gön as an outer reliquary (phyi rten) for his father. Therefore, I would assume that all stūpas were built after Agön Zangpo’s death in 1482. However, while Shākya Chokden (Shākya mchog ldan, 1428–1507) was visiting Mustang from 1472 to 1475 at the invitation of Tashi Gön, the Tashi Gomang Stūpa must already have been built; otherwise, he could not have written a descriptive praise for it upon his return to his monastery of Serdok Chen (gSer mdog can) in Tsang.7

Sets 2–5: Commissions by Aseng Dorje Tenpa

Based on inscriptions and references in literary sources, it can be concluded that Aseng Dorje Tenpa commissioned at least four sets of metal sculptures. In my understanding, all sets depicted the lineage masters of the Lamdre. They were commissioned between 1478 and ca. 1496, when Aseng Dorje Tenpa passed away.8 

Set 2: A Funerary Commission for Künga Wangchuk  
Two sculptures from Set 2 are currently known (Figs. 3–4). They depict Sakya Paṇḍita Künga Gyeltsen (Sa skya Paṇḍita Kun dga’ rgyal mtshan, 1182–1251) and Ngorchen Künga Zangpo (Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po, 1382–1456) as gilt copper alloy figures, each more than 30 cm high. Comparisons with inscriptions on other funerary commissions, in both painting and sculpture, suggest that the two sculptures were part of a larger set. However, the lineage of the depicted masters cannot currently be definitively identified. In a Sakya context, particularly within the Ngor branch, the most prominent teaching cycle is the Lamdre, for which there are numerous examples of lineage masters in painting and sculpture. Therefore, the set may indeed represent the Lamdre lineage masters. However, the invocations engraved on the two sculptures are not those commonly used in the context of the Lamdre. There are also other, albeit much less common, commissions, such as those of the Cakrasaṃvara lineage masters or the Profound Path Guruyoga lineage masters.

Fig. 3. After Bonhams 2025: Lot 115Fig. 3. After Bonhams 2025: Lot 116

The inscriptions on the pedestals of both sculptures state that they were created as a funerary commission for Künga Wangchuk (1424–1478), who was the nephew of Ngorchen and the 4th abbot of Ngor (tenure: 1465–1478). The inscriptions also name the commissioning patron as Sakyong Āyi Sengge (Sa skyong Ā yi seng ge), who can be identified as Aseng Dorje Tenpa.9

Inscription in Tibetan on the sculpture of Sakya Paṇḍita

࿓།ཤེས་བྱ་ཀུན་ལ་བློ་གྲོས་ཅན། །གཅིག་ཏུ་གཞན་དོན་ལ་དགའ་བ། །རྒྱལ་སྲས་མཚན་དཔེའི་དཔལ་གྱིས་མཛེས། །པཎ་ཆེན་བཟང་པོའི་ཞབས་པད་འདུད། །རྒྱལ་ཚབ་ཀུན་དགའ་དབང་ཕྱུག་པའི། །ཐུགས་དགོངས་རྫོགས་ཕྱིར་པཎ་ཆེན་སྐུ། །ས་སྐྱོང་ཨཱ་ཡི་སེང་གེའི་བཀས། །ལེགས་གནང་བཟོ་རིག་གཙུག་གཏོར་ལགས།། མཾ་ག་ལཾ།།

Inscription in transliteration on the sculpture of Sakya Paṇḍita

@|shes bya kun la blo gros can| |gcig tu gzhan don la dga’ ba| |rgyal sras mtshan dpe’i dpal gyis mdzes| |paṇ chen bzang po’i zhabs pad ’dud| |rgyal tshab kun dga’ dbang phyug pa’i| |thugs dgongs rdzogs phyir paṇ chen sku| |sa skyong ā yi seng ge’i bkas| |legs gnang bzo rig gtsug gtor lags|| maṃ ga laṃ||

Inscription in Tibetan on the sculpture of Ngorchen

࿓།།མཁྱེན་པའི་ཆོས་སྤྱན་ཀུན་ལ་གསལ། །རྩེ་བས་དམ་ཆོས་དགའ་སྟོན་འགྱེད། །ཕྲིན་ལས་བཟང་པོ་འགྲོ་ཀུན་གྱི། །འདྲེན་པ་མཆོག་ལ་གུས་པས་འདུད། །རྒྱལ་ཚབ་ཀུན་དགའ་དབང་ཕྱུག་པའི།། ཐུགས་དགོངས་རྫོགས་ཕྱིར་རྗེ་ཡི་སྐུ། །ས་སྐྱོང་ཨཱ་ཡི་སེང་གེའི་བཀས། །ལེགས་གནང་བཟོ་རིག་གཙུག་གཏོར་ལགས། །མཾ་ག་ལཾ།།

Inscription in transliteration on the sculpture of Ngorchen

@||mkhyen pa’i chos spyan kun la gsal| |rtse bas dam chos dga’ ston ’gyed| |phrin las bzang po ’gro kun gyi| |’dren pa mchog la gus pas ’dud| |rgyal tshab kun dga’ dbang phyug pa’i|| thugs dgongs rdzogs phyir rje yi sku| |sa skyong ā yi seng ge’i bkas| |legs gnang bzo rig gtsug gtor lags| |maṃ ga laṃ||

A manuscript of the most extensive biography of Künga Wangchuk has recently been discovered, providing additional details about his two sojourns in Mustang that were missing from his other biographies. The biography was written by Ratön Yönten Pelzang (Rwa ston Yon tan dpal bzang, d. 1509), who was from the family line of Ra Lotsawa Dorje Drak (Rwa Lo tsā wa rDo rje grags, b. 1016). Ratön was a disciple of Ngorchen, Jamyang Sherap Gyatso (’Jam dbyangs Shes rab rgya mtsho, 1396–1474)—the 3rd abbot of Ngor (1462–1465), who was installed by Ngorchen as the abbot of Mustang’s Namgyel Chöde Tupten Dargye Ling (rNam rgyal Chos sde Thub bstan dar rgyas gling)—and Künga Wangchuk. Ratön was mainly active in Mustang, where he apparently followed Jamyang Sherap Gyatso on the throne of Namgyel and was later selected by Künga Wangchuk to tutor Lowo Khenchen.10

During his time as abbot of Ngor, Künga Wangchuk visited Mustang twice. According to Ratön, he departed for Ngari (mNga’ ris), Western Tibet, in autumn of 1466, returning to central Tibet the following autumn of 1467. The fact that he stayed until 1467, not just in 1466 as is commonly assumed, is also evident from Lowo Khenchen’s autobiography. Lowo Khenchen states that he met Künga Wangchuk in his eleventh year (= 1466) but was unable to join his winter teachings (dgun chos). However, Lowo Khenchen joined the teachings Künga Wangchuk gave from spring (dpyid kha) until the latter left for central Tibet, which both consequently would have fallen in the next year, 1467.11

According to Ratön, Tashi Gön—the eldest son of Agön Zangpo and older brother of Aseng Dorje Tenpa—invited Künga Wangchuk on his first visit. Ratön also states that, during this visit, Agön Zangpo took the vows of a “complete layman who upholds all five upāsaka vows” (yongs rdzogs kyi dge bsnyen) from Künga Wangchuk. As Ratön refers to Agön Zangpo as a “dharma king” (chos rgyal) in this context, it seems that he was still the king of Mustang at that time and only abdicated after his ordination, as is also mentioned in the Royal Succession of Mustang.12

Künga Wangchuk paid a second visit to Mustang from 1477 until his demise in 1478 at Jampa Ling (Byams pa gling) monastery. According to Ratön, he departed for Western Tibet in the 7th month of 1477 and passed away on the 21st day of the 4th month of 1478. It was also at Jampa Ling that Ratön completed the biography of Künga Wangchuk in the 9th month of 1478. The second invitation to Künga Wangchuk was a joint effort. The family of the new king, Tashi Gön, who is now referred to as “dharma king” by Ratön, discussed the matter, after which Aseng Dorje Tenpa requested that Künga Wangchuk come to Mustang for a second time.13

During his two visits, Künga Wangchuk gave extensive teachings to the local communities, including each time the Lamdre instructions, which he also imparted to the royal family of Mustang. During his second visit, he reportedly gave the complete Lamdre to over 900 people from the 10th month of 1477 to the 10th day of the 4th month of 1478. He finished just a few days before his death on the 21st day of the 4th month. Moreover, on each of his two journeys through Western Tibet, Künga Wangchuk ordained more than a thousand monastics, including Lowo Khenchen, who received novice ordination during the first visit and full monastic ordination during the second.

Surprisingly, the set of sculptures, including those of Sakya Paṇḍita and Ngorchen, is not recorded in Künga Wangchuk’s biographies as one of his funerary commissions. Regarding commissions of the Lamdre lineage masters, his biographies only mention a set of paintings that was made from his shroud (gdung ras), the preparation of which was overseen by his disciple, Lowo Khenchen. The sculpture set is also not mentioned in the Royal Succession of Mustang, although the text does record other commissions by Aseng Dorje Tenpa (see Sets 3–4).

I would expect Aseng Dorje Tenpa to have commissioned the two sculptures and their set either in the year of Künga Wangchuk’s death, 1478, or soon thereafter. As the inscriptions refer to him as “Protector of the Realm” (sa skyong), a title typically used for rulers, it raises the question of whether Aseng Dorje Tenpa had succeeded his elder brother, Tashi Gön—who is commonly believed to have died in 1489—as king by that time.14 However, this assumption is contradicted by information from other sources. For instance, when covering the second invitation to Künga Wangchuk, Ratön still refers to Tashi Gön as “dharma king” (chos rgyal), and Aseng Dorje Tenpa does not bear a title. Moreover, Tsang Nyön Heruka (gTsang myon Heruka, 1452–1507) visited Mustang on three occasions (ca. 1481, ca. 1490, ca. 1498). His biography by Götsang Repa Natsok Rangdröl (rGod tshang Ras pa sNa tshogs rang grol, 1494–1570) provides the names for the Mustang rulers Tsang Nyön met during his three visits: Tashi Gön (dPon po bKra shis mgon) during his first visit, Aseng Dorje Tenpa (Klo bo rGyal po A seng) during his second, and Delek Gyatso (Klo bo rGyal po bDe legs rgya mtsho) during his third. Their respective titles of “ruler” (dpon po) and “king” (rgyal po) suggest that they were in charge, respectively.15

Although the exact meaning of the title “Protector of the Realm” (sa skyong) cannot be clarified at present, Aseng Dorje Tenpa also used it for another of his commissions: a gilded sculpture of Tārā. According to a lengthy inscription engraved below the lotus pedestal, he commissioned this sculpture as a funerary commission for a recently deceased “youthful friend” (gzhon nu’i grogs).16

Inscription in Tibetan

༄༅།།རྒྱལ་བ་ཀུན་གྱི་མཁྱེན་བརྩེ་གཅིག་བསྡུས་ནས། །མཐའ་ཡས་འགྲོ་ལ་ཕན་བདེ་ཀུན་བསྒྲུབ་ཅིང་། །འགྲོ་ཀུན་སྲིད་ཞིའི་འཇིགས་པ་མ་ལུས་ལས། །སྐྱོབ་མཛད་རྗེ་བཙུན་བཅོམ་ལྡན་སྒྲོལ་མའི་སྐུ། །འཕགས་མའི་ཐུགས་རྗེའི་དཔལ་གྱིས་འགྲོ་ཀུན་ སྐྱོང་། །ཀུན་གྱི་ཡུམ་མཆོག་དཔལ་སྐྱོང་གང་དེ་ཡིས། །ཐུགས་ལ་བརྩེ་བ་བརྩེ་བས་བསྐྱང་བའི་ཕྱིར། །བཀས་གནང་ཇི་བཞིན་ལེགས་པར་བསྒྲུབ་མཛད་པ། །རྨད་བྱུང་བསོད་ནམས་གསེར་གྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ཡིས། །ཆབ་སྲིད་གླིང་བཞིའི་དཔལ་ལ་དབང་ བསྒྱུར་བ། །ས་སྐྱོང་ཨ་མཆོག་མི་ཡི་སེང་གེ་དེས། །གཞོན་ནུའི་གྲོགས་ཀྱི་ཐུགས་དགོངས་རྫོགས་བྱའི་ཕྱིར། །རྣམ་མང་རིན་ ཆེན་དུ་མ་སྤྲུལ་པ་ལ། །བཟོ་རིག་གཙུག་ཏོར་མཁས་པའི་རྣམ་འཕྲུལ་ལགས།།

Inscription in transliteration

@#||rgyal ba kun gyi mkhyen brtse gcig bsdus nas| |mtha’ yas ’gro la phan bde kun bsgrub cing| |’gro kun srid zhi’i ’jigs pa ma lus las| |skyob mdzad rje btsun bcom ldan sgrol ma’i sku| |’phags ma’i thugs rje’i dpal gyis ’gro kun skyong| |kun gyi yum mchog dpal skyong gang de yis| |thugs la brtse ba brtse bas bskyang ba’i phyir| |bkas gnang ji bzhin legs par bsgrub mdzad pa| |rmad byung bsod nams gser gyi ’khor lo yis| |chab srid gling bzhi’i dpal la dbang bsgyur ba| |sa skyong a mchog mi yi seng ge des| |gzhon nu’i grogs kyi thugs dgongs rdzogs bya’i phyir| |rnam  mang rin chen du ma sprul pa la| |bzo rig gtsug tor mkhas pa’i rnam’ phrul lags||

Sets 3 and 4: Funerary Commissions for his Mother (or Wife)
According to the Royal Succession of Mustang, Aseng Dorje Tenpa was the patron of funerary commissions for his late mother, called Precious Mother (Yum rin mo che) in the text. Assuming that his mother was Pelkyong— who was still alive when her husband, Agön Zangpo, died in 1482—and that Aseng Dorje Tenpa died around 1496, it can be concluded that his funerary commissions date into this period. However, as the Tibetan word yum can also refer to a wife, it is possible that the recorded funerary commissions were actually made for his “Precious Wife” (Yum rin mo che). Götsang Repa provides a small piece of information about the wife in his biography of Tsang Nyön Heruka. Around 1490, when Tsang Nyön Heruka visited Mustang for a second time and met Aseng Dorje Tenpa, who was king at the time, Götsang Repa refers to an unwell Dakmo Gugema (bDag mo Gu ge ma). This suggests that Aseng Dorje Tenpa’s wife was from Guge and that the latest commissioning date would have been his year of death in around 1496.17

Alongside numerous scriptures, the funerary commissions for his mother or wife included two gilded Tārā sculptures, each the length of an arrow (mda’ tshad), and two sets of gilded Lamdre lineage master sculptures. The first set comprised twenty-six pieces, while the second comprised twenty-one.18 As Ngorchen is number 21 in the standard Lamdre lineage of Ngor, the second set might have concluded with his sculpture. The last master depicted in the set of twenty-six pieces, number 26 in the lineage, might have been Gorampa Sönam Senge (Go rams pa bSöd nams seng ge), the 6th abbot of Ngor (tenure: 1483–14861), provided that the lineage was traced through all subsequent Ngor abbots without omitting some, as was the case with abbots number 3 and 5 in Set 5 (see below).19

Set 5: A Set for Gorampa Sönam Sengge
After the death of Künga Wangchuk, Aseng Dorje Tenpa invited Gorampa Sönam Sengge, the 6th abbot of Ngor, at one point during the latter’s tenure from 1483–1486 to visit Mustang. For reasons not specified, however, this visit did not take place. Consequently, Aseng Dorje Tenpa commissioned twenty-four sculptures of the Lamdre lineage masters, from Vajradhara down to Gorampa himself, as well as an additional sculpture of a protector, most likely of Pañjaranātha Mahākāla.

Although the present whereabouts of the set or of individual of it sculptures are unknown, different literary sources provide information about its commissioning history. The most detailed account is found in Gorampa’s collected writings.20 Having received the set, Gorampa wrote a brief text in various verse meters including a lineage prayer for the masters depicted as sculptures, including himself as the last one (punya siṃ ha bdag). In fifteen syllables, he devoted one line of praise to each master, ending with their respective names. This lineage prayer reveals that the last four masters depicted were:

(21) Ngorchen, the 1st abbot of Ngor
(22) Müchen Könchok Gyeltsen (Mus chen dKon mchog rgyal mtshan, 1388–1469), the 2nd abbot of Ngor (tenure: 1456–1462)
(23) Künga Wangchuk, the 4th abbot of Ngor
(24) Gorampa, the 6th abbot of Ngor

The abbots number 3 and 5 were obviously omitted from the Lamdre lineage: Jamyang Sherap Gyatso, the 3rd abbot, and Penden Dorje (dPal ldan rdo rje, 1411–1482), the 5th abbot (tenure: 1479–1481).

In his undated text, Gorampa clarifies that the set was offered to him at Ngor from the palace of Mönthang by Aseng Dorje Tenpa. In the versified colophon, he appears to suggest that the sculptures were brought to Ngor by someone called Gyeltsen Pel (rGyal mtshan dpal).21

The set is also mentioned in Gorampa’s biographies. While two of them only mention it briefly,22 the biography written by Gorampa’s scribe for seventeen years, Au Zhönnu Zangpo (A’u gZhon nu bzang po), provides a more detailed account. According to this account, Guge Paṇḍita Drakpa Gyeltsen (Gu ge Paṇḍita Grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1415–1486), a former attendant and biographer of Ngorchen, played an important role in preparing the sculptures. This included providing instructions for the sacred fillings to be placed inside the sculptures and briefly consecrating them. Moreover, Bar Rawa Gyeltsen Pel (’Bar ra ba rGyal mtshan dpal)—who established the connection between Aseng Dorje Tenpa and Gorampa and who is also the Gyeltsen Pel mentioned in Gorampa’s text—brought the sculptures from Mustang to Ngor. When Gorampa stepped down as Ngor abbot, he returned to his monastic seat at Tupten Namgyel (Thub bstan rnam rgyal) in Tanak (rTa nag) and took the sculptures with him. Gorampa perfectly performed another consecration of the set, and by the time Au Zhönnu Zangpo was writing Gorampa’s biography, the set had been installed in the labrang (bla brang) of Tupten Namgyel.23

Sets 6 and 7 Commissioned by Tsewang Zangpo and Lodrö Gyeltsen

At least two more sets of Lamdre lineage master sculptures were most likely commissioned at the end of the 15th century. Both were cast in metal and bear inscriptions identifying the masters depicted and the patrons who commissioned them. While each set originally must have consisted of more than twenty sculptures, only seventeen from each set are currently preserved at Namgyel monastery. The final available sculpture of both sets depicts Künga Wangchuk, the 4th abbot of Ngor (Figs. 5–6). Assuming that Künga Wangchuk is indeed the final sculpture of both sets, it is likely that they were commissioned shortly after his death in a manner similar to Set 2.

Fig. 5. After Klohe 2022: TZS:24After Klohe 2022: Fig. LGS:24

According to the inscriptions engraved around the lower rim of the lotus pedestals, Set 6 was commissioned by Tsewang Zangpo (Tshe dbang bzang po, 1450–ca. 1527), the illustrious minister whom I have discussed elsewhere.24 He served successive kings of Mustang—including the three brothers Tashigön, Aseng Dorje Tenpa, Delek Gyatso—as chief minister. He was also the father of the renowned master Künga Drölchok (Kun dga’ grol mchog, 1507–1566) and a patron of Buddhism and its art.

The set has been studied in detail by Hans-Werner Klohe in his dissertation titled “Lineage Portraiture in Tibetan Buddhist Art: Sets of Statues of Lamdre Lineage Teachers of the Ngor Tradition in the Collection of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang (Nepal), Late Fifteenth to Sixteenth Century.”25 Klohe introduces the set as follows:

The ungilt statues of this set were cast from different metal alloys and measure 30 centimeters in height on average. Rich in skillful engravings and silver and copper inlays, they are probably the product of a distinct regional workshop. Each figure is shown seated on a double lotus pedestal with densely arranged narrow lotus petals between two beaded rims. All statues are sealed on the underside with a copper plate, which is engraved with a finely designed crossed vajra (viśvavajra) emblem […]. While seventeen statues are preserved at Namgyal Monastery today, the set must have consisted of at least twenty-four statues originally, as indicated by the presence of Künga Wangchug, who occupies position 24 in the main and standard Lamdre lineage of the Ngor tradition. Seven figures are missing from the set […].26

To illustrate the nature of the inscriptions on the sculptures, I will quote here the inscription from the second sculpture of the set depicting Nairātmyā (Fig. 7).27 (The  first sculpture depicting the originator of the Lamdre instructions, Vajradhara, is missing.)

Fig. 7: After Klohe: TZS:2

Inscription in Tibetan

༄༅།། རྗེ་བཙུན་རྡོ་རྗེ་བདག་མེད་མའི་ཞབས་ཀྱི་པདྨོ་དྲི་མ་མེད་པ་ལ། བདག་ཚེ་དབང་བཟང་པོ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཞིང་སྐྱབས་སུ་མཆིའོ། །དགེ་བ་འདིས་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་གོ་འཕང་ཐོབ་པར་གྱུར་ཅིག། མངྒ་ལཾ།།

Inscription in Transliteration

@#|| rje btsun rdo rje bdag med ma’i zhabs kyi padmo dri ma med pa la| bdag tshe dbang bzang po phyag ’tshal zhing skyabs su mchi’o| |dge ba ’dis sems can thams cad sangs rgyas kyi go ’phang thob par gyur cig| mangga laṃ||

Two additional metal sets of Lamdre lineage master sculptures can most likely be attributed to Tsewang Zangpo. While only one sculpture from the first set is currently known, depicting Virūpa, and housed in the Norbulingkha (Nor bu gling kha) in Lhasa, three sculptures from the second set are currently known: one at Namgyal and the other two in museum collections—the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Mumbai (formerly named Victoria and Albert Museum) and Victoria and Albert Museum, London.28 The three sculptures depict:

  • Loppön Sönam Tsemo (Slob dpon bSod nams rtse mo, 1142–1182)
  • Jetsün Drakpa Gyeltsen (rJe btsun Grags pa rgyal mtshan, 1147–1216)
  • Nyenchen Sönam Tenpa (Nyan chen bSod nams brtan pa, 1220s/30s–1317)

As an example, I quote the inscription of the sculpture depicting Nyenchen Sönam Tenpa (Fig. 8).29

Fig. 8. After Klohe 2022: Fig. 3

Inscription in Tibetan

༄།། ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྗེ་ཉན་ཆེན་བསོད་ནམས་བརྟན་གྱི་ཞབས་ཀྱི་པད་མོ་ལ་བདག་ཚེ་དབང་བཟང་པོ་ཕྱག་འཚལ་ཞིང་སྐྱབསུ་མཆིའོ། དགེ་བ་འདིས་སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་གོ་འཕང་ཐོབ་པར་གྱུར་ཅིག། མངྒལཾ།།

Inscription in Transliteration

@|| chos kyi rje nyan chen bsod nams brtan gyi zhabs kyi pad mo la bdag tshe dbang bzang po phyag ’tshal zhing skyabsu mchi’o| dge ba ’dis sems can thams cad sangs rgyas kyi go ’phang thob par gyur cig| manggalaṃ||

As Nyenchen Sönam Tenpa was not part of the standard Ngor Lamdre lineage, the set might have included alternative lineage masters to represent different branches of the lineage.

Set 7 was also studied by Klohe in his dissertation, introducing it as follows:

Measuring 18 centimeters in height on average, the statues of the Lodrö Gyaltsen Set are densely gilded and finely chased with textile patterns on garments and robes. Each figure is shown seated on a double lotus pedestal, with narrow lotus petals between two beaded rims in most cases. A special feature of this set of gilt copper statues is that the undecorated reverse of the pedestals, where the inscriptions are placed, is colored with red pigment. All statues are sealed on the underside with a copper plate, which is engraved with a crossed vajra (viśvavajra) emblem and generally also painted red […]. While seventeen statues are preserved at Namgyal Monastery today, the set must have consisted of at least twenty-four statues originally. Seven figures are missing from the set […].30

According to the inscriptions on the back of the pedestals, fifteen of the seventeen currently available sculptures were commissioned by a patron named Lodrö Gyeltsen (Blo gros rgyal mtshan). He is most likely identifiable as the royal monk Chöje Lodrö Gyeltsen (Chos rje Blo gros rgyal mtshan), who flourished in the second half of the 15th century and the first half of the 16th century, and was from the ruling family of Mustang. He was the eldest son of Tashi Gön and the nephew of Lowo Khenchen.31 However, the inscriptions of the first and last sculptures, depicting Vajradhara and Künga Wangchuk respectively, require further clarification as they differ from the others in terms of the name of the patron, according to Klohe. (No images are available to me.) As an example, I will also quote the inscription from the second sculpture of the set depicting Nairātmyā (Fig. 9).32

Fig. 9. After Klohe 2022: Fig. LGS:1

Inscription in Tibetan

། བདག་མེད་མ་ལ་བདག་བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱལ་མཚན་སྐྱབསུ་འཆི་

Inscription in Transliteration

| bdag med ma la bdag blo gros rgyal mtshan skyabsu ’chi

Endnotes

  1. See Luczanits 2016: 128–129, Klohe 2022, Klohe 2024. ↩︎
  2. See dGe slong Blo gros dpal mgon, Glo bo mkhan chen gyi rnam thar (p. 420.2–3), rJe btsun Kun dga ’grol mchog, Glo bo mkhan chen gyi rnam thar (p. 224.5), Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams, Glo bo mkhan chen gyi rnam thar (p. 268.5). ↩︎
  3. See Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje, rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes (p. 10.13–14). ↩︎
  4. See Jackson 1984: 123, Kramer 2008: 125, 155. ↩︎
  5. See Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje, rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes (p. 13.16–21). ↩︎
  6. On Ngorchen’s three journeys to Mustang, see Heimbel 2017: 271–343. ↩︎
  7. See Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje, rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes (pp. 11.6–18, 18.1–19.3). See also Heimbel 2019: 299–311. ↩︎
  8. Aseng Dorje Tenpa died while his younger brother, Lowo Khenchen, was on the first of his two sojourns to central Tibet (from 1489 to 1497 and from mid-1506 to 1509). Lowo Khenchen makes note of his elder brother’s death in his autobiography; see Heimbel 2017: 272, n. 252, Jackson 1984: 124, Kramer 2008: 70, 138, 166. Lowo Khenchen’s collected writings contain letters he sent to his elder brother. One of these dates to the first day of the third month and was sent from Tsedong (rTse gdong) in Tsang (Tsang), where Lowo Khenchen stayed for some time in 1495. The title folio refers to this letter as the Mi’i dbang po a seng rdo rje brtan pa la phul ba, which would confirm that Aseng Dorje Tenpa was still alive in 1495. However, in another version of Lowo Khenchen’s collected writings, the letter appears under a different title: sTod phyogs su gsung shog tshigs bcad ma phul ba; see Kramer 2008: 242, no. 282.
    Vitali (2012: 203) obviously misunderstands a passage on the life of Aseng Dorje Tenpa from the Royal Succession of Mustang (i.e., the rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes), stating the following: “Like almost every member of his family involved in the exercise of secular rule, he [i.e., Aseng Dorje Tenpa] eventually took monastic vows, administered by his brother Glo bo mkhan chen in the presence of rDo rje ’chang Kun dga’ dbang phyug.” This comment is based on Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje, rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes (p. 19.15–17): sangs rgyas kyi bstan pa la zhabs tog mdzad tshul zur tsam ni| rgyal ba rdo rje ’chang gnyis  pa kun dga’ dbang phyug pa’i zhal mnga’ nas spyan drangs te mkhan chen bsod nams lhun grub bsnyen par rdzogs par mdzad| zab cing rgya che ba’i chos kyi ’khor lo bskor|. Vitali (2012: 203, n. 319) translates this passage as follows: “A brief account of his service in the favour of the Buddhist teachings is as follows. Invited in the presence of the second rgyal ba rDo rje ’chang Kun dga’ dbang phyug pa, […] mkhan chen bSod nams lhun grub bound [A seng rDo rje brtan pa] to the bsnyen rdzogs vow. The latter turned the wheel of the teachings profoundly and extensively.” In my understanding, and as supported by other sources on Künga Wangchuk and Lowo Khenchen, this passage simply states that Aseng Dorje Tenpa invited Künga Wangchuk and that the latter bestowed full monastic ordination on Lowo Khenchen and gave profound and extensive teachings. ↩︎
  9. See Heimbel 2025 for a translation of the inscriptions and a discussion of whether the inscriptions also mention the artist’s name. ↩︎
  10. On Ratön Yönten Pelzang, who also wrote the still missing biography of Jamyang Sherap Gyatso, see Heimbel 2017: 335, n. 526, 336, 364, 514, passim. ↩︎
  11. See Kramer 2008: 126–127, 156–157. ↩︎
  12. See Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje, rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes (p. 13.7–13). ↩︎
  13. For the details from Ratön’s biography of Künga Wangchuk, see Rwa ston Yon tan dpal bzang, Kun dga’ dbang phyug gi rnam thar (fols. 28b1–29b5, 30b1–31b3, 34b4ff.). On Künga Wangchuk’s two visits to Mustang, as well as related references in his other biographies, see Heimbel 2017: 334–335. ↩︎
  14. See Jackson 1984: 123–124. ↩︎
  15. See rGod tshang Ras pa sNa tshogs rang grol, gTsang smyon gyi rnam thar (fol. 34a5–b2 / pp. 67.5–68.2, fol. 76a5ff. / p. 153.5ff., fol. 88a6ff. / p. 177.6ff.,  fol. 97a2ff. / p. 195.2ff.), Larsson 2012: 165–166, 172, 176–178, 322. ↩︎
  16. See Heimbel 2025: 192–194. ↩︎
  17. See rGod tshang Ras pa sNa tshogs rang grol, gTsang smyon gyi rnam thar (fol. 76b1 / p. 154.1). ↩︎
  18. See Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje, rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes (p. 20.4–7). ↩︎
  19. For a list oft he successive abbots of Ngor, see Heimbel 2017: 513—546. ↩︎
  20. The text bears the title sDe pa a seng pas gsung ngag brgyud pa’i gser sku phul dus kyi phyag rtags; see Go rams pa, Go rams pa’i bka’ ’bum (vol. 13, pp. 667.1–670.1). ↩︎
  21. See Go rams pa, Phyag rtags (fol. 3b6 / p. 668.6, fol. 4a6 / p. 669.6). ↩︎
  22. See Rwa ston Yon tan ’byung gnas, Go rams pa’i rnam thar (p. 360.4–5), A mes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga’ bsod nams, Go rams pa’i rnam thar (p. 257.9–11). ↩︎
  23. See A’u gZhon nu bzang po, Go rams pa’i rnam thar (pp. 384.20–385.8). ↩︎
  24. See Heimbel 2017: 330–331. See now also Klohe 2022: 84–93. ↩︎
  25. See Klohe 2022: vol. 1, 65–93, vol. 2, 1–7, 85–109. ↩︎
  26. Klohe 2022: vol. 1, 65. ↩︎
  27. The inscription is given according to Klohe 2022: vol. 2, 1–2. ↩︎
  28. See Klohe 2022: vol. 1, 88–90, vol. 2, 32–33, 239–240. ↩︎
  29. The inscription is given according to Klohe 2022: vol. 2, 1–2. ↩︎
  30. Klohe 2022: vol. 1, 95. On the set, see Klohe 2022: vol. 1, 95–119, vol. 2, 9–13, 111–133, Klohe 2024. ↩︎
  31. See Jackson 1984: 126–127. ↩︎
  32. The inscription is given according to Klohe 2022: vol. 2, 32. ↩︎

Bibliography

Works in Tibetan
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Go rams pa bSod nams seng ge (1429–1489). sDe pa a seng pas gsung ngag brgyud pa’i gser sku phul dus kyi phyag rtags. In Kun mkhyen go bo rab ’byams pa bsod nams seng ge’i bka’ ’bum: The Collected Works of Kun-mkhyen Go-rams-pa bSod-nams-seng-ge. 13 vols. Kangra, H.P.: Yashodhara Publications for Dzongsar Institute India, 1995., vol. 13 (a), pp. 667.1–670.1.

dGe slong Blo gros dpal mgon (fl. 16th century). Glo bo mkhan chen gyi rnam thar = ’Jam dbyangs bsod nams lhun grub kyi rnam par thar pa. In Selected Biographies of Sa-skya-pa Lam ’bras Masters Including the Lives of Glo-bo Mhan-chen Bsod-nams-lhun-grub and Jo-naṅ Rje-btsun Kun-dga’-grol mchog. Reproduced from a golden manuscript of Glo-bo Smon-thaṅ provenance from the library of H. H.the Sa-skya Khri-’dzin Rin-po-che. Dehra Dun, U.P.: Sakya Centre, 1985, pp. 411–573.

rGod tshang Ras pa sNa tshogs rang grol (1482–1559). gTsang smyon gyi rnam thar = The Life of the Saint of gTsaṅ. Edited by Lokesh Chandra with a preface by E. Gene Smith. Śata-Piṭaka Series, Indo-Asian Literatures, vol. 79. New Delhi: Dr. Mrs. Sharada Rani, 1969.

rJe btsun Kun dga ’grol mchog (1507–1566). Glo bo mkhan chen gyi rnam thar = dPal ldan bla ma ’jam pa’i dbyangs kyi rnam par thar pa legs bshad khyad par gsum ldan. In dPal brtsegs bod yig dpe rnying zhib ’jug khang (ed.), Bod kyi lo rgyus rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs thengs gnyis pa. 30 vols. (vols. 31–60). Xining: mTsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2011, vol. 56 (li), pp. 213–351.

Tshe dbang don yod rdo rje (fl. 18th century). rGyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes = Glo bo chos rgyal rim byon rgyal rabs mu thi li’i phreng mdzes. Glo bo’i dus deb, 2022/3: 1–39.

Rwa ston Yon tan dpal bzang (d. 1509). Kun dga’ dbang phyug gi rnam thar = rJe btsun dam pa rgyal tshab chos kyi rje’i rnam thar byin brlabs kyi gter mdzod. dBu med manuscript, 45 fols.

Rwa ston Yon tan ’byung gnas (fl. 15th/16th century). Go rams pa’i rnam thar = rTsa ba bsdus pa’i rnam thar bshad pa byin rlabs rgya mtsho. In A mes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga’ bsod nams (1597–1659), Kun mkhyen bsod nams sengge’i rnam par thar pa dad pa rgya mtsho’i rlabs phreng rnam par g.yo ba, pp. 320.9–369.19. In Si khron bod yig dpe rnying bsdu sgrig khang (ed.), Kun mkhyen bsod nams seng ge’i rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. Mes po’i phyag rjes 1. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2017, pp. 277–446

Sa skya Lo tsā ba Kun dga’ bsod nams (1485–1533). Glo bo mkhan chen gyi rnam thar = [incipit title:] Khams gsum chos kyi rgyal po bsod nams lhun grub legs pa’i ’byung gnas rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’i rnam par thar pa blo gsal klu’i dbang po’i gtsug gi nor bu. In Sa lo chen po ’jam dbyangs kun dga’ bsod nams kyi gsung ’bum. Kathmandu: Sa skya rgyal yongs gsung rab slob gnyer khang, 2007, pp. 253–290.

A mes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga’ bsod nams (1597–1659). Go rams pa’i rnam thar = Kun mkhyen chos kyi rgyal po bsod nams seng ge’i rnam par thar pa ngo mtshar gsal ba’i nyin byed bsod nams rab rgyas. In Si khron bod yig dpe rnying bsdu sgrig khang (ed.), Kun mkhyen bsod nams seng ge’i rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. Mes po’i phyag rjes 1. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2017, pp. 170–276.

A’u gZhon nu bzang po (fl. 15th/16th century). [Go rams pa’i rnam thar]. In A mes zhabs Ngag dbang kun dga’ bsod nams (1597–1659), Kun mkhyen bsod nams sengge’i rnam par thar pa dad pa rgya mtsho’i rlabs phreng rnam par g.yo ba, pp. 370.2–397.15. In Si khron bod yig dpe rnying bsdu sgrig khang (ed.), Kun mkhyen bsod nams seng ge’i rnam thar phyogs bsgrigs. Mes po’i phyag rjes 1. Lhasa: Bod ljongs mi dmangs dpe skrun khang, 2017, pp. 277–446.

Works in European Languages
Bonhams. 2025. Lot 115 = “A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Sakya Pandita.” Jules Speelman. Monks and Mahasiddhas: Living the Teachings of Buddha. Hong Kong, 5 May 2025.
https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30571/lot/115/a-gilt-copper-alloy-figure-of-sakya-pandita-tibet-circa-1480-90/

Bonhams. 2025. Lot 116 = “A Gilt Copper Alloy Figure of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo.” Jules Speelman. Monks and Mahasiddhas: Living the Teachings of Buddha. Hong Kong, 5 May 2025. https://www.bonhams.com/auction/30571/lot/116/a-gilt-copper-alloy-figure-of-ngorchen-kunga-zangpo-tibet-circa-1480-90/

Heimbel, Jörg. 2017. Vajradhara in Human Form: The Life and Times of Ngor chen Kun dga’ bzang po. Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Institute.

Heimbel, Jörg, “Classifying Funerary Commissions: Portraits of the Great Abbots of Ngor,” Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 79: 175–238.

Jackson, David P. 1984. The Mollas of Mustang: Historical, Religious and Oratorical Traditions of the Nepalese-Tibetan Borderland. Dharamsala, H.P.: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives.

Klohe, Hans-Werner. 2022. “Lineage Portraiture in Tibetan Buddhist Art: Sets of Statues of Lamdre Lineage Teachers of the Ngor Tradition in the Collection of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang (Nepal), Late Fifteenth to Sixteenth Century.” 2 vols. PhD thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.

Klohe, Hans-Werner. 2024. “The Lamdré Lineage Set by Donor Lodrö Gyeltsen in the Collection of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang, Nepal.” In Christian Luczanits and Lousie Tythacott (eds.), Tibetan Monastery Collections and Museums: Traditional Practices and Contemporary Issues. Kathmandu: Vajra Books, 87–117.

Kramer, Jowita. 2008. A Noble Abbot from Mustang: Life and Works of Glo-bo mKhan-chen (1456–1532). Wiener Studien zur Tibetologie und Buddhismuskunde 68. Wien: Arbeitskreis für Tibetische und Buddhistische Studien, Universität Wien.

Luczanits, Christian. 2016. “Portable Heritage in the Himalayas: The Example of Namgyal Monastery, Mustang: Part I: Sculpture.” Orientations 47/2: 120–130.

Vitali, Roberto. 2012. A Short History of Mustang (10th–15th century). Dharamsala, H.P.: Amnye Machen Institute.