Dralha Yesi Gyalpo

This painting depicts Dralha Yesi Gyalpo, a protector of the founder of the Bon religion, Tonpa Shenrab, who is also depicted at the top of the work. As is typical for worldly protectors, he is clad as a Tibetan warrior carrying weapons and riding a horse.

The largely unpainted canvas devoid of landscape allows the viewer to focus on the wonderful draftsmanship and brush control of the artist. Especially notable is the naturalistic handling of animals, such as the plump form of the large winged bird-shrew hybrid (“fox bat,” bya ma byi’u) at the bottom center or the articulation of each feather and curved neck of the peregrine falcon (bya khra) at the top right. The seam running down the middle of the canvas and the slightly course quality of the cotton suggests that the cloth used as a canvas for this painting was woven locally on back-strap loom. The width of such homespun is limited but its length is not, allowing for such a long format in this painting.