NEPAL, 18TH-19TH CENTURY

The present sculpture represents the meditational deity, Akshobyavajra, as he is described in the Guhyasamaja Tantra, a highly important Vajrayana Buddhist text describing the unexcelled class of yidam or meditational deity. Three-headed, six-armed, and in union with his consort, he represents the ultimate form of Buddha Akshobhya while the many attributes in his other hands represent the enlightened qualities of the other four Buddha families. The bright copper tone of this metal image, upon which small traces of polychrome remain, point to its Nepalese origin. The pedestal is fashioned like those that more commonly support the deity in his tathagata manifestation while the inclusion of lions rather than elephants is unusual, also pointing to the likelihood of this object’s Newar Buddhist origin, in which there is more iconographical flexibility.

Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 24473.