Similar to the Christies’ Hong Kong auction, another auction, Reverence: Important Himalayan Art from the Collection of Ulrich von Schroeder, of priceless Tibetan Buddhist treasures and artworks is being sold off to the highest bidder, for millions of USD/HKD. This time the works come from a specific living individual the art historian and collector, Ulrich von Schroeder, whom Bonhams refer to in their promotional webpage and video interview with von Schroeder for the auction as “one of the most influential figures in the study of Himalayan art.”
There are forty objects for sale, including priceless 11th-18th Century Tibetan thangkas, statues and pages of Tibetan scripts from the Prajnaparamita Sutras from Western Tibet, Guge and Nepal in particular. Such as the twenty-one Green Taras, Mahakala, Taglung Kagyu and portrait of the 5th Sakya Trizin thangka paintings, which I outline briefly below. Amazingly there are also some precious 3rd and 4th Century Buddha heads from the Gandhara period too (which it says the Von Schroeder purchased in Pakistan in the early 1970’s).
I am not suggesting that von Schroeder himself stole these private sale items, as he seems to have purchased some of them from his own money. In fact, perhaps he has helped preserve some precious Buddhist objects, as his significant research has clearly done.
Yet, it seems as if Von Schroeder will be making a huge financial profit from their sale. Scrolling through the various priceless objects being sold off for personal profit to the highest bidder, it again struck me, as with the Christies Hong Kong auction that if the provenance/ownership lineage of these objects is not clear, and they may have been stolen at some point from Tibet, for example by the Mongolian-Gelugpa forces, or smuggled illegally out of Tibet by foreigners, then they should be returned back to their original homes/artists’ estates.
Without a shred of irony (it seems) Bonham’s (who will also be making commercial profit from their sale) entitled the auction “Reverence” and yet it could not be further from that. None of these items were made to be sold to the highest bidders for personal or corporate financial profit. In fact, the Buddha himself cautioned people not to do that. There is nothing reverent about treating these objects like luxury vintage bottles of wine or diamonds.
As I suggested in relation to the Christies Hong Kong auction, is it not time these works were returned to origin, or at least those Tibetan Buddhist lineage estates given first and only bids option? Dedicated to restoring sacred Buddhist objects and artworks to origin and to original purpose!
Music? Money (That’s What I Want) and Money Can’t Buy Me Love by the Beatles, and Money by Pink Floyd.
Written by Adele Tomlin, 22nd October 2025.
UPDATE: Since writing this, I wrote to Von Schroeder asking him about these matters, and even though I have never met or spoken to him before, he responded in an insulting and derogatory manner (see below). Says it all really…..
Art historian, researcher and art collector: Ulrich Von Schroeder (1943 – )
Born in 1943 in Switzerland, since the age of twenty-two, Ulrich von Schroeder has studied Buddhist art and culture as an independent scholar. The results of his numerous field trips are published in several monumental volumes on Buddhist art history. For example, after nine years and 14 expeditions in Tibet, he published ‘Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet’, illustrating in two volumes more than 1,100 previously unpublished sculptures discovered in Tibet. The first volume documents sculptures from India and Nepal in Tibetan monasteries. The second volume illustrates Buddhist sculptures made in Tibet and China. In 2021, Schroeder published an over-1,500-word comprehensive book about the stone sculptures in Nepal, both Hindu and Buddhist, titled Nepalese Stone Sculptures.
I wrote to von Schroeder on his academia.edu page and asked him about his new book “Tenth Karmapa: Tibet’s Greatest Artist (Garud Books, 2025)” and this forthcoming Bonham’s exhibition, as of yet no response. Perhaps I do not have millions of dollars or social status to be worthy of a response ha ha ha.
Bonham’s Auction 30th October: contact details for Head of Sales
In any case, the Bonham’s auction will take place on 30th October 2025, and contact details for the Head of Sales, Dora Tan has been given: Tel: +852 2245 3712 and Dora.Tan@bonhams.com. I have now also written to Dora and asked her about this, and if they intend to return them, or at the very least offer the original estate/country the option of first and only bid etc. I would encourage others to do the same.
These auction houses are treating such sacred objects and cheaper than, yet similar to expensive jewellery or bottles of wine. They were never created to be sold for commercial profit in such ways. In fact, the Buddha expressly forbid selling Buddhist items like this for commercial profit, especially if they had been stolen by others historically.
Four priceless thangkas: Twenty-One Green Taras, Mahakala, Lama Sangye Dragpa
1) “RABBIT IN THE MOON”: TWENTY-ONE GREEN ARYA TARA THANGKA, TIBET, 17TH/18TH CENTURY, HK$80,000 – HK$120,000.
“The composition represents a rare and striking variant of the Twenty-One Taras, centered on Green Tara—the “Remover of All Fears.” Uniquely, all surrounding Taras are also rendered in green, unified by luminous halos and aureoles in radiant, varied hues. Each deity is adorned in similarly styled garments and intricately detailed gold jewelry shaped like foliage, reinforcing their shared divine essence….
The landscape background reflects a characteristically Tibetan style enriched by Chinese artistic influences that gained prominence in the 17th century. Short, precise brushstrokes define trees along mountain ridges, while white clouds with subtle blue shading frame the central Tara and surrounding hills. In comparable works, floral motifs sometimes replace these cloud forms. Similar treatment of clouds and lotus petals appears in a refined thangka of Khasarpana Lokesvara sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3043, a stylistic hallmark of 17th- and 18th-century thangkas….
An engaging and unexpected detail in the artwork is the subtle depiction of a rabbit, gently rendered in grey brushstrokes against the silver moon. This feature references a Buddhist Jataka tale and serves as an enduring icon in East Asian mythology, further enhancing the charm and appeal of the painting.༸
Here is an excerpt from Bonham’s description:
“This powerful thangka depicts four-armed Chaturbhuja Mahakala, the wrathful emanation of Avalokiteshvara and protector of the Chakrasamvara Tantra. Seated in lalitasana upon a lotus pedestal and framed by a vivid red flame aureole, he raises a sword and khatvanga in his upper hands, while his principal hands wield a vajra-handled chopper and a kapala. Above, a red-hatted Sakya hierarch faces Samvara with Vajravarahi. In the lower register, Sri Devi crosses a sea of blood opposite a donor monk, flanking a table of torma offerings. ….Together, these parallels firmly place the present painting within the output of Tsang workshops serving monasteries such as Sakya, Gyantse, and Ngor.”
3) A PORTRAIT THANGKA OF LAMA RINPOCHE SANGYE DRAKPA, TIBET, PROBABLY COMMISSIONED FOR RIWOCHE MONASTERY, CIRCA 1525. HK$800,000 – HK$1,200,000
States it was acquired by Von Schroeder in 2003, but not from whom and where.
Bonham’s auction excerpt says:
“This singular painting represents Lama Rinpoche Sangye Drakpa, a disciple of Twelfth Taklung Abbot Ngawang Drakpa Pelzangpo (1418-1496) and of his successor, Thirteenth Taklung Abbot Namgyal Drakpa Pelzanpo (1469-1530). It is likely to have been commissioned at Riwoche monastery in Kham. The central figure appears in the guise of a yogi, bare-chested, hands held in meditation at the lap, eyes wide-open in a powerful gaze. A luxurious orange robe, adorned with golden blossoms and hemmed with a golden scrolling vine, covers the shoulders and the folded legs. A green bolster supports the figure’s torso against an orange throneback. An opened lotus, with multi-colored petals highlighted in golden upturned edges, provides a seat for the adept, and a gold-capped canopy bedecked with golden pendants shields the figure from above. His teacher, the Twelfth Taklung abbot Ngawang Drakpa Pelzangpo, appears above his head, floating on a cloud. Four additional figures include the great adept and iron bridge builder Thangton Gyalpo (1385-1481 or 1361-1485), the Treasure-finder Kunkyong Lingpa (1396-1477 or 1408-1489), and two monastic figures who are identified by inscriptions but whose biographies are unknown.“
4) 16/17th Century Portrait of 5th Sakya Trizin, Jetsun Dragpa Gyaltsen: HK$2,500,000 – HK$3,500,000
See Bonham’s description here.
5) 3rd/4th Century Buddha and Bodhisattva heads
