TIBET, 17TH-18TH CENTURY

Standing in alidhasana on prostrate bodies atop a lotus base, the wrathful protector stands in union with Naraitmya. He holds a kapala in one of his primary hands, while his other arms radiate around him. Identifiable by his wings and three horse's heads emerging out of his flaming hair, Hayagriva rules over the nagas and has the power to heal disease. This particular three-headed, six-armed depiction is classified as a "Supersecret" form identified in a vision by the Fifth Dalai Lama (M. Rhie and R. Thurman, Worlds of Transformation: Tibetan Art of Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 1999, p. 377, cat.no. 140). The present work retains much of the original gilding, as well as the original pigments.