STATUE DE PALDEN LHAMO EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ
DYNASTIE QING, XVIIIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4837
20.8 cm (8 1/4 in.) high
Footnotes:
A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF PALDEN LHAMO
QING DYNASTY, 18TH CENTURY

清 十八世紀 銅鎏金吉祥天母像

Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s

This sizable depiction of Palden Lhamo (lit. 'Glorious Goddess') portrays the only female among the Eight Dharma Protectors (dharmapala). A myth surrounding her tells of how, moved by compassion for all sentient beings, Palden Lhamo threatened to kill her own son if her husband would not cease from performing human sacrifices. Forced to carry out her ultimatum, she used her son's flayed skin as a saddle whilst fleeing the kingdom.

Palden Lhamo, especially in her two-armed form, enjoyed great popularity during the Qing dynasty and a good number of gilt bronze images were created. As with the present bronze, she is often depicted seated sideways atop a mule while striding through a sea of blood and body parts on a mountain plateau. She holds a skull cup in her left hand, while a ritual staff would have been placed in her raised right hand. Exposed fangs, bulging eyes, a skull diadem, and a garland of freshly severed heads express her vehemence. Compare the treatment of the figure and the stylized base to a closely related 18th-century Palden Lhamo sold at Bonhams, Hong Kong, 26 November 2019, lot 22. Another example with similarly exaggerated flaming hair is preserved in the Rose Art Museum, Massachusetts (Rhie & Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion, New York, 2000, p. 303. no. 116).

Excellent overall condition with minor wear to gilding on the extremities and areas of black grease and deposits from exposure to monastic pattern lamps. The parasol is separately cursed and loose in its current position. The service is richly gilded, as seen in images. Missing attributes in upper right hand. Original base plate intact with minor spots of corrosion evident around the edges.



Please contact Sidney Lee (sidney.lee@bonhams.com) for related condition report images.