TIBET, XVIIIE SIÈCLE

Vajrabhairava arises as a wrathful tantric emanation of the Bodhisattva of Wisdom, Manjushri. Originating from Indic sources, his fearsome form derives from one of the avatars of the great Lord Shiva. His iconography depicts him with nine heads in three stacked tiers of which the main face features the head of a buffalo. His primary hands held along the chest carry a skullcup and hooked knife, encircled by thirty other hands each holding its own implement. His principal function within the Anuttaryoga Tantra classification system, which comes from the Vajrabhairava Root Tantra, characterizes this deity practice with the principal intention of overcoming the limitations of death. Compare with two other eighteenth century Vajrabhairava sculptures including one sold at Christie's, New York, 16 March 2015, lot 3214 and another sold at Sotheby's, Hong Kong, 3 April 2018, lot 3679.