Bronze with brown patina
Tibet, um 1900
Highly detailed depiction
With numerous attributes in the hands
Two-piece figure
Base with lotus leaves and strings of pearls
Height: 20 cm
Good condition
Provenance: Private collection Hamburg
Expressive sculpture in a complex presentation

This Tibetan bronze figure shows Mahakala with his consort on a base with lotus leaves and strings of pearls. The deity often appears as a wrathful deity and is also known as Dharmapala, the guardian of Buddhist teaching. Here the fierce, three headed and six armed deity is depicted with his female companion in yab yum. They are shown in alida with two bodies under his feet. Mahakala has numerous attributes in the hands and the six arms are arranged spoke like around his body. His main arms are slung around his female consort and a skinning knife, gri-gug, as well as a ritual bowl, or kapala, are visible in his hands. His tantric partner, who has swung her left leg around his waist, has also a gri- gug and a filled kapala in her lifted hands. The deities are adorned with precious jewelry as well as with a blowing ribbon and the expressive faces are worked out in detail.



Condition:

The bronze figure is in good condition with natural patina and signs of age and wear. Restauration are visible between the figures. The height measures 20 cm.

Yab-yum

Yab-yum literally means “father-mother“, and is a symbol in Buddhist art which represents the sexual union of a male deity with his female consort. The union of the male strength and the female wisdom dissolve all contradiction and symbolize unity and the highest enlightenment.

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