Sakya Lineage Thangka: The Earlier Research Dossier
This page records the earlier phase of our investigation into a Tibetan Sakya lineage thangka with Nairātmyā. It explains the work that led to the first dating proposal and directs readers to the subsequent research update.
The dating research has changed. The earlier proposal of a fifteenth-century date was revised in the update of 30 September 2026. The newer dossier records a specialist source reference connecting the named patron with Sakya Dagchen Künga Lodrö (1729–1783), bringing the investigation into an eighteenth-century historical context. Read the latest research and dating update for the current account and its source discussion.
What the first investigation examined
Our initial investigation brought together the painting’s iconography, composition, inscriptions, textile support and condition. Rather than treating the subject alone as a date, the research considered these features together.
The work included reading the gold inscriptions beneath the depicted figures, examining the colophon on the reverse and studying the ritual consecration inscriptions. The names associated with the teachers were used to investigate the Sakya and Lamdré transmission represented in the painting.
The earlier dating proposal
The first dossier proposed a date in the second half of the fifteenth century, approximately 1450–1490. That proposal combined an interpretation of the lineage and patron with observations of painting style, composition and textile support. It belongs to the history of the investigation and is superseded by the later dating discussion.
The distinction matters when reading an earlier catalogue description or research reference: a historical proposal should be identified by its research stage. The current Sakya thangka dossier contains the subsequent update alongside the detailed examination.
The object and its research record
The painting is documented in the 1stBuddha Research Collection. The object record for the Sakya lineage thangka with Nairātmyā provides the related photographs and catalogue information. The object record is retained as part of the research archive.
For the complete discussion of the inscriptions, lineage and revised historical context, continue to the latest research dossier.
