TIBET, 12TH CENTURY

The present figure is simply ornamented yet sumptuously cast. Many scholars contend that Samvara arises out of a pre-Buddhist deity, and indeed, the third eye, snakes, and the head of Brahma are Shaiva iconography. From the naturalistic proportions to the treatment of details such as in the lotus base and garland of severed heads, this figure stylistically echoes from the late Pala style, such as the contemporaneous Kapaladhara Hevajra from the Potala Collection (see U.von Schroeder, Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet; India and Nepal, 2001, pp.302-303, cat. no.102D). The simple lotus flowerheads stippled onto the Yogini's sash are seen in early Western Tibet bronzes from the 11th century. Certain features testify to this formative period in which Tibet was influenced from communities in India, appropriating Indian forms while instilling the figure's character with Tibetan stylizations. The rendering of the rounded face, with bulging eyes and hairy wrinkly eyebrows, reveals a more Tibetan treatment of the features. The present figure exemplifies the formative years of Tibetan bronze development, before the figures were made with the full suite of iconographic details characteristic of Himalayan Buddhism.

The inscription translates to:
This statute of supreme emanation body,
made for the many Dharma Rajas,
and for all parents,
created by Dharma king dkon mchog rgyal dbang,
May I pray to achieve two kinds of benefits.