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Lot Essay
Palden Lhamo ("Glorious Goddess") is one of the most important female protectors in Tibetan Buddhism. This particular depiction from the Sakya school depicts the goddess with bound feet seated atop a recumbent mule on a sea of blood. She holds a raised sword, spear and skull cup overflowing with gruesome contents. An elephant skin is draped across her back and a garland of freshly severed heads hangs from her shoulders. Adding to her wrathful appearance is a jewel and skull diadem, a wild-eyed gaze, and a corpse hanging from her fanged mouth. A diminutive figure of the crocodile-headed Dakini Makaravaktra stands below.
Considered a precious metal, Tibetan sculpture in silver are extremely rare. As such, this work must have been a special commission. Compare with a silver figure of Mahapratisara in the Nyingjei Lam Collection; see D. Weldon and J.C. Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet, 1999, pl.29, p.124. For a painting of the same subject, see lot 4032.
Considered a precious metal, Tibetan sculpture in silver are extremely rare. As such, this work must have been a special commission. Compare with a silver figure of Mahapratisara in the Nyingjei Lam Collection; see D. Weldon and J.C. Singer, The Sculptural Heritage of Tibet, 1999, pl.29, p.124. For a painting of the same subject, see lot 4032.