seated in vajraparyankasana on a lotus in a mountainous landscape, with temples and monastery complexes and scenes from the life of Nangsa Wöbum, all surrounded by a cloud border Himalayan Art Resources item no. 77095.

“Dieux et démons de l’Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque”, Grand Palais, Paris, 25 March-27 June 1977; and Haus der Kunst, Munich, 5 August-16 October 1977. "Legends and Myths in Himalayan Art: Once Upon Many Times", The Rubin Museum of Art, New York, 16 September 2011-30 January 2012.

Jeannine Auboyer and Gilles Béguin, Dieux et démons de l'Himâlaya: Art du Bouddhisme lamaïque, Paris, 1977, cat. no. 189. Elena Pakhoutova, Legends and Myths in Himalayan Art: Once Upon Many Times, New York, 2011, pp. 10-11, fig 10. 

The current lot depicts the life story of a beautiful Tibetan woman, Nangsa Wöbum, depicted here as Sitatara, of whom she is considered an emanation. This story is a popular subject often re-enacted in Tibetan opera. Nanga Wöbum suffered in an unhappy marriage and was abused by her husband and her husband's family, only to die from grief. Due to her good karma, she was returned to life by the Lord of Death, wherein she became a nun and devoted her life to sharing the Buddhist teachings with those same people who had earlier wronged her. The narrative scenes within the thangka depict scenes from the life of Nangsa Wöbum.