A gilt copper-alloy figure of Mahakala, Tibet, 14th century

Acquired, together with the other Buddhist figures in the sale, as a group collection in Paris, circa 1985.

Mahakala is considered to be one of the most powerful protector deities of Vajrayana Buddhism, and appears in his four-armed Chaturbhuja manifestation in this charming circa 14th century Tibetan gilt copper sculpture. The sword and trident held in the upper hands are symbolic weapons used by the deity to destroy the hindrances of ignorance and desire, and the flaying knife and blood-filled skull cup held in his principle hands evoke the transitory nature of life. Mahakala’s expression is wide-eyed and fierce with lips parted revealing sharp fangs. A snake writhes across the corpulent torso with head entwined with its tail at the deity’s left shoulder. He wears a garland of freshly severed human heads, a crown of skulls, a flayed tiger skin loincloth, and is seated on an elegant lotus leaf pedestal spread with two human corpses. The sculpture faithfully recreates the medieval eastern Indian origins of the iconography, while the style is purely Tibetan from the period of close ties with Nepalese artists and the powerful Yuan court of China.