Dharmapala Thangka CentreTibetan Antiques


Guhyasamaja Tsa Tsa

Ming Dynasty 16th / 17th cent. !

Front Side Side View 1 Side View 2 Detail 1 Detail 2: Lotus Detail 3: Sword Palm print on back

This very old impressive Tsa Tsa of the six-armed Guhyasamaja [Tibetan: གསང་བ་འདུས་པ »gsang ba 'dus pa«] shows the deity in three-faced form, each with a triple diadem. The archaic-looking artistic execution shows faces at rest in themselves, a well-proportioned body, discreetly ornamented robes.

The symbols and their handling testify to a very thoughtful mode of representation, which stands out from the later, more stylized versions.

Dwelling in a round body and head aureole, the deity carries in iconographically correct form in the two hands crossed in front of the chest vajra and ghanta, in the upper pair of hands the wheel [Skt. »Dharmacakra«] and the jewel of teaching [Skt. »Cintamani«], and in the middle pair of hands in the right hand the lotus [Skt. »Padma«] and in the left the sword [Skt. »Khadga«].

As Guhyasamja thus wears the symbols of the Five Tathagatas, he reveals himself as consubstantial with them and as the bearer of their various wisdoms.

Guhyasamaja belongs to the yidam deities of the highest tantra class [Skt. »Anuttarayogatantra«], in which the meditator ritually transforms himself into the deity and then works for the benefit of living beings. Guhyasamaja occurs with or without a female partner [»Prajna«], with the female deity usually holding the symbols of the male deity in mirror image form. Gujamaja is in his basic form six-armed, shows up in mixed peaceful-wrathful form. He appears in single representation [as here] but also in union with his female consort [Tib. »Yab-yum«, Skt. »Yuganaddha«].

Location: West Tibet

Probably Age: 16th - 17th Cent.

Source:
TSHA-TSHA, Votive tablets from the Budd. cultural area, Collection C. H. Lutz


PropertyValue
Measurements: 3 x 2.3 x 0.8" | 7.6 x 5.9 x 2.1 cm
Price: 239 $ | 220 €
Shipment: Parcel Service from Germany
Material: Burned Clay
Age: 16th - 17th cent.
High resolution: Display [0.6 MB, 2024 x 2073 px.]
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