TIBET, STYLE OF DENSATIL MONASTERY, 14TH-15TH CENTURY

The heavy casting and rich gilding of this fierce Vajrakilaya sculpture relate to works produced at the famed Densatil Monastery and surrounding region of south central Tibet in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Located southeast of Lhasa in central Tibet, Densatil Monastery was founded in 1179 by Phagmodrupa Dorje Gyalpo, one of the three principal students of Gampopa, the founder of the Pagdru Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism.
As the sect grew in wealth and political power, eight lavishly decorated monumental stupas, known as tashi gomang (“many doors of auspiciousness”) were constructed in Densatil Monastery's main hall. The main building had a massive three-story display of shimmering golden deities created by master artists from Nepal with the help of local craftsmen. Tragically destroyed in the second half of the twentieth century, little remains from the original site except for a small group of salvaged fragments which have been preserved in private collections and museums.
This rare sculpture depicts Vajrakilaya, an important meditational deity in the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, and Kagyu schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Vajrakilaya belongs to the eight pronunciations of Heruka and represents the activity aspect of the Heruka tradition. He stands in tight embrace with his consort, adorned with pendent garlands inlaid with turquoise and ruby.
Stylistically, the treatments of the beaded bangles around their arms and ankles, the severed-head garlands, and the foliate crowns, reveals a distinct Densatil style influenced by Newari aesthetics. Vajrakilaya holds various implements including the phurbha, or a ritual peg, in his principal hands. His bulging eyes emphasize his wrathful character, and the finely arched brows are centered by the third eye, flanked on either side by an additional face. His consort Dipta Chakra holds a vajra bell and skull cup, her face pressed to his with an intent gaze. On the reverse of the sculpture is a sealed consecration chamber, where precious texts and materials were deposited within the statue to animate the divine.
In the eight tashi gomang stupas at Densatil, Vajrakilaya statues, such as the present work, were usually placed on the second tier from the top. The first tier was reserved for Vajradhara and the various masters of the lineage, signifying the highest refuge in Vajrayana Buddhism. The second tier is reserved for yidams, which are special deities one works with in meditation as a means towards recognizing one's own awakened nature. On the second tier of the tashi gomang stupas, Vajrakilaya is displayed alongside other deities such as Vajrabhairava, Shadakshari Lokeshvara, Chakrasamvara, and Achala among others.
The presence of Vajrakilaya among the top three tiers of the monument emphasizes his significance to the religious life of the monastery and lineage. At Densatil, daily prayers and rituals would be offered to the meditational deity Vajrakilaya to remove obstacles and destroy enemies hostile to the monastery and the Buddha’s teachings. Compare the present lot with a Vajrakilaya associated with Densatil sold at Christie’s New York, 18 March 2013, lot 330 and a Vajrakilaya in a private collection published on Himalayan Art Resources, item number 12027.