TIBET, 13TH-14TH CENTURY

This charismatic bronze figure of a wrathful deity commands a mighty presence. A finely cast sculpture in an early Tibetan style, the wrathful deity strides in alidhasana, with the left leg bent at the knee and the right leg thrust to the side. The rotund deity stands triumphant, wielding an implement in his right hand and holding a kapala skull cup in his left. In Tibetan Buddhism, a skull cup symbolizes cutting through the identification with our body and its endless desires and craving by remembering death, the ultimate impermanence. The implement in his right hand is now lost, thus obscuring the identity of this deity. He wears human skin draped around his neck, framing his bulbous eyes and furrowed face. Around his waist, he wears an unusual loin cloth with floral motifs and he is adorned with anklets, bracelets and necklaces formed by beaded rondels topped with a triangular panel.
His expression exudes power, like that of the Buddhist protector Achala, who wields a sword. Yet, unlike the common forms of Achala we know of today, he holds a skull cup in his left hand. While the exact identification of the deity is unknown, this figure would have been certainly part of a larger sculptural set. The surface of this statue has been rubbed to a glowing patina suggesting that it was treasured as a personal object of devotion. The three paneled crown and the overall proportion echoes the Pala style of Northeastern India; compare the present work with a Pala figure of Achala sold at Bonhams Hong Kong, 2 December 2020, lot 1003.