Inner Mongolia, female deities

Late 18th century, Inner Mongolia, Dolonnor, Ushnishavijaya, parcel-gilt bronze repoussé, 36,5 cm, private collection, Art d’Asie lot 206, 14th June 2023, Christie’s (Paris).

Particularly popular in Mongolia, the three-head and eight-arm form of this long-life goddess always has a visvajra (either in one of her right hands – as would have been the case here – or in both main hands held in the gesture of meditation) and an effigy of Amitabha (usually held in the her upper right hand). The missing implements are likely to be a bow and an arrow in the middle hands, and a long-life vase in the lower left hand; the lower right one makes the gesture of supreme generosity, the upper left one makes the fear-allaying gesture.

Undated (circa 18th century), Mongolia, Dolonnor style, Ushnishavijaya, metal (gilt copper alloy with painted facial features), private collection, photo on HAR

Each head as a third eye, and the hair is pulled together and arranged in a double bun, as is traditional in the Dolonnor area.

17th-18th century, Mongolia, Ulaan Baatar, Sitatapatra, gilt bronze, photo by Daderot on wikimedia, exhibited at the Linden Museum in Stuttgart (Germany).

In her one-head and two-arm form Sitatapatra, whose name means ‘white parasol’, usually has a wheel in her right hand and a parasol in the other. She also has a third eye, and may have 3 heads and 6 to 10 arms, five heads and 10 arms, or a thousand heads and a thousand arms.

18th century, Inner Mongolia, Dolonnor style, White Tara, (parcel-gilt?) metal, private collection, photo on HAR

White Tara makes the gesture to bestow refuge with her left hand (tip of ring finger on tip of thumb) and extends her right hand in the gesture of generosity. She has a third eye on her forehead.

Undated (circa 18th century), Inner Mongolia, Dolonnor style, (White Tara), metal, private collection, photo by Hanai Auction on HAR

Undated (circa 18th century), Inner Mongolia, Dolonnor style, (White Tara), metal, private collection, photo on HAR

Mongolia, female entities (9)

Late 18th century, Mongolia, Dolonnor, Ushnishavijaya, parcel-gilt bronze repoussé with polychromy, 18,1 cm, private collection, photo on Christie’s

The ‘Victorious Goddess of the Ushnisha’ in her three-head and  eight-arm form, holding a lasso in her main right hand and an arrow in the middle one, her missing attributes are a visvajra (main left hand) a bow (middle left hand), a long-life vase (lower left hand), an effigy of Amitabha (upper right hand). he left one makes the fear-allaying gesture, her lower right hand is held in the gesture of supreme generosity, the left one once held a long-life vase.

And to continue with late but interesting works from The Triay Collection of Himalayan Art on Bonhams :

19th century, Mongolia, rakshasi? (labelled ‘Begtse Chen’), painted papier mâché, 48 cm, lot 175.

This female figure with a demon appearance may be a rakshasi, as suggested by Jing Wen from Bonhams. We saw a couple kept at the British Museum (erroneously labelled ‘Vajrayogini and Karmadakini‘ – see detailed notes on HAR ). The above is naked and holds a thigh bone and a skull cup.

19th century, Mongolia, Simhamukha, painted papier mâché, 56 cm, lot 128.

Standing with her left foot on a female victim, the lion-faced dakini brandishes a flaying knife and holds a skull cup full of blood before her heart and a long ritual staff in the crook of her left arm. She wears a tiger skin around her waist, another on her back, and is adorned with a skull crown and a garland of severed heads.

Mongolia, Palden Lhamo (4)

18th century, Mongolia, Lhamo, gilt brass, photo E. T. Basilia in the Mountain Pass exhibition catalogue published byEugenia Karlova , inventory nº 5121 l at the State Museum of Oriental Arts in Moscow (Russia).

Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi) has various forms. This is Magzor Gyalmo, a wrathful aspect of Sarasvati with one head and two arms, seated on the hide of her dead son, riding a kiang across a sea of blood, brandishing a vajra-tipped club and holding a skull cup filled with magic substances. She has a third eye, wears a tiger or leopard skin loin cloth, a five-skull crown, a garland of severed heads. Her distinctive features are a sun disc over her navel, a crescent moon in her hair, a small corpse in her mouth, a parasol or canopy above her head. We can see some of her magic weapons hanging from a snake (dice at the front, balls of wool at the back), but there is also a human figure hanging at the front, with the head twisted round, and she has a human hide over her shoulders. Another unusual feature is the skull cup on the pedestal, supported by a plinth with skulls and containing a long-life vase.

Mongolia, Yeshe Tsogyal

All the posts in the Mongolian section of this blog have been revised and updated, additional information and direct links to pictures have been added.

17th-18th century, Mongolia, Yeshe Tsogyal, gilt copper alloy, 18 cm, Asian Art lot 104, 27th March 2010, Koller.

Seated on a round lotus base with overlapping petals going upwards, Yeshe Tsogyal, a Tibetan teacher and one of Padmasambhava’s famous consorts, holds a ritual water pot in her left hand and a (missing) skull cup in the other. She is wearing a silk dhoti with a lotus print and an embroidered hem, a scarf, princely jewellery and accessories, a sacred cord, a five-skull tiara.

Mongolia, Palden Lhamo (3)

18th century, Inner Mongolia or Beijing, Palden Lhamo, painted copper, size or accession number not given, at the National Palace Museum in Taiwan.

The extensive use of pigments that makes some Mongolian sculptures so colourful makes it easier to appreciate all the details inherent to this very irate two-arm form of Shri Devi, a wrathful aspect of Sarasvati known as Shrimati (Magzor Gyalmo in Tibet). She sits sideways on a friendly kiang who crosses a sea of blood strewn with body parts, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle. She holds a skull cup full of magic substances in her left hand and a vajra-tipped club (missing here) in the other. She has three eyes, flaming hair that stands on her head, a miniature corpse between her teeth, a crescent moon in her hair, a sun disc on her navel. Her kiang is adorned with a sun disc with raining jewels on its forehead, a collar made of skulls, a severed head hanging from a snake, its bridle is a snake, and a longer one attached to its back holds four of her magic weapons: a ball of variegated wool at the back, a bag of disease, red curses, and dice at the front. She wears a tiger skin loin cloth into which she usually tucks a tally stick, her fifth magic weapon. A parasol is missing from above her head.

Mongolia, Green Tara (3)

18th century, Mongolia, Tara, gilt bronze with turquoise, coral (and lapis lazuli) inlay, private collection, photo on Christie’s

Seated on a tall Zanabazar-style lotus base, with a leg pendent, her foot placed on a large lotus, Green Tara (who has a green body on paintings) makes the gesture of supreme generosity with her right hand while holding the stem of a blue lotus in the other and making a gesture to bestow refuge (tip of the ring finger on tip of the thumb). Her two-tier bun is topped with the head of a buddha, most likely Amitabha.

18th-19th century, Mongolia or Tibet, Tara, gilt copper alloy with stone inlay, private collection, photo on Sotheby’s.

This one has a full effigy of Amitabha behind her tiara (see side view and close up on the above link).

Mongolia, Palden Lhamo (2)

18th century, Mongolia, Palden Lhamo, bronze and pigments, private collection?, photo on Nandzed .

Complete with parasol, this one-head and two-arm form of Shri Devi Known as Magzor Gyalmo in Tibet rides a kiang across a sea of blood and floating limbs. She sits on the hide of her dead son, wielding a staff in her right hand and holding a skull cup in the other, before her heart. Her attendants are Makaravaktra, who leads her mount, and Simhavaktra, who follows behind.

17th or 18th century (or later?), Mongolia, Dolonnor, Shri Devi, gilt bronze, at the Khanenko Museum in Kiev (Ukraine).

On this example the attendants are positioned the other way round. We can see some of Shri Devi’s magic weapons: a bag of disease, a bundle of red curses, some dice, hanging from a snake tied around her kiang, a tally stick fastened to her belt.

18th century, Mongolia, Palden Lhamo, gilt copper alloy with polychromy, private collection, Indian & Southeast Asian Art lot 81, 20th September 2002, Sotheby’s.

One of her distinctive signs is a sun disc on her navel, clearly visible here.

Mongolia, female entities (8)

18th century, Mongolia, Hemanta Rajni riding a camel, gilt bronze and pigments, private collection, photo and details on asianart.com .

A rare sculpture of a female figure riding a camel, identified as Hemanta Rajni, Queen of Winter (who has a blue body on paintings and usually holds a hammer and a skull cup when she is part of Palden Lhamo’s retinue figure). She has a third eye, flaming hair going upwards, and is almost naked but for a human hide tied around her neck and worn on her back.

Circa 1800, Inner Mongolia, Palden Lhamo, parcel gilt copper, private collection, photo on Doyle .

This very rare composition depicts the two-arm form of Shri Devi/Palden Lhamo (known as Magzor Gyalmo in Tibet), identified by the sun-and-moon symbol in her hair, the corpse between her teeth, the sun disc on her navel, and the hide of her son on her back. Instead of riding a kiang and being accompanied by Simhavaktra and Makaravaktra, she is seated on an indeterminate object, with a male figure seated next to her and four busts placed in a row at the front (one of them with various heads). Her (missing) attributes are a vajra-tipped sandalwood staff or club (right hand), a skull cup filled with magic substances and held before her heart (left hand), a parasol or canopy made of peacock feathers (above her head).

18th century, Inner Mongolia, Dolonnor, Sitatapatra, gilt copper alloy with stone inlay, private collection, photo on Bonhams, Hong Kong , lot 122.

Sitatapatra in her one-head and two-arm for, seated in a relaxed manner on a lotus base, her right hand holding a (missing) wheel, the other holding a (missing) parasol and making the gesture to bestow refuge (tip of ring finger on tip of thumb).

She is attended by a tiny wrathful female holding a sword in her right hand and a lasso in the other.

Mongolia, female entities (7)

17th century, Mongolia, Sitatapatra, gilt bronze with stones and pigment, nº 58335 from the Huntington Archive, at the Gandangthekchinling monastery in Ulan Bator (Mongolia).

Sitatapatra, identified by the parasol in her lower right hand, with multiple heads (possibly five, each with a third eye) and eight arms, seated in a relaxed manner on a Zanabazar-style lotus base. She has a sword, a vajra sceptre, and an arrow in her remaining right hands, the missing object may have been a wheel. Her left hands hold a bow, a victory banner, raining jewels, a vajra axe, and a conch shell.

18th century, Mongolia, probably made in Dolonnor for the Qing Court, Ushnishavijaya, gilt copper repoussé with turquoise, cold gold and pigment, private collection, photo on Bonhams (San Francisco).

Ushnishavijaya in her three-head and eight-arm form, holding a visvajra, an effigy of Amitabha, and an arrow in her right hands, the lower one held in the gesture of generosity; the top left hand makes the fear-allaying gesture, the next ones down hold a (missing) lasso, a bow, and a (missing) long-life vase. Each head has three eyes.

18th century, Mongolia, Ushnishavijaya (labelled ‘Avalokiteshvara’), parcel-gilt copper with stones and pigment, private collection, photo on Christie’s (Hong Kong).

When the visvajra is in her main right hand she usually has a lasso in the opposite hand. We saw a very similar sculpture of Ushnishavijaya on Nagel . The above still has her Chinese-style earrings and five-leaf crowns.

18th century, Mongolia, Dolonnor, Tara, gilt bronze with copper repoussé accessories, coral, turquoise, pigment, private collection, photo on Galerie Zacke .

Green Tara in the Dolonnor style, her double bun topped with a lotus bud finial.

Mongolia, Tara (2)

18th century, Mongolia, Tara, gilt metal (gilt copper alloy with cold gold, pigments, stone inlay), private collection, photo on Himalayan Art Resources.

Almost identical to a Green Tara seen here  and very much in Zanabazar’s style, this White Tara has seven eyes: three on her face, one in each palm of her hands and one on each sole of her feet. Her left hand is bestowing refuge (tip of the ring finger against tip of the thumb), the other expresses supreme generosity.

17th or 18th century, China or Mongolia, White Tara, gilt bronze (with cold gold and pigments), private collection, photo on catawiki .

A thin sash tightly drawn across the breast is a recurrent feature on Mongolian sculptures of Tara made during the 17th and the 18th century. Those made by Zanabazar or his followers usually display the necklace over rather than under the cloth. 

17th-18th century, Mongolia, Tara, gilt bronze, private collection, photo on igavelauctions .

Green Tara, seated on Zanabazar-style lotus base, her right leg pendent, the foot placed on a large lotus. She is adorned with beaded jewellery and sacred thread, a festooned belt, and a small tiara made of five lotus buds. We saw the same headdress on a Marici at the Rubin Museum of Art , a Tara published by Christie’s , another  published by Hollywood Galleries and a third by Christie’s (this last one with the same hairstyle). Some of them also have an effigy of Amitabha in their headdress. Finally, the auction house draws our attention to the following:

Undated (probably 18th century), Mongolia, Tara, metal (gilt copper alloy), photo on Himalayan Art Resources , at the Capital Museum in Beijing (China).

Green Tara, also with a lotus-bud tiara and an effigy of Amitabha at the front of her chignon, holding the stem of a lotus in each hand.

18th century, Mongolia, Tara, gilt bronze, private collection, photo on Bonhams.

A variant with four lotus buds and an open lotus at the centre of the tiara. She holds a vase in her right hand and makes the gesture to bestow refuge with the other. Her face, with Chinese-style features, is painted with cold gold and pigments.

18th-19th century, Mongolia, Tara, silver with cold gold and turquoise, item 1959-93-86 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA).

18th century, Mongolia or China, Tara, gilt copper alloy, turquoise, coral and pearls, item 1962-178-4 at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (USA).

Whereas the use of coral and turquoise is associated with Tibet, the rigid extremities of the celestial scarf dropping straight at the front of the lotus base are reminiscent of Chinese works.

18th century, Mongolia, Tara, gilt bronze on a gilt copper repoussé base, private collection, photo on Drouot .

A remarkably different style for this White Tara adorned with very large ear ornaments, made of two discs containing a lotus, and a matching headband below her crown. In her left hand she holds the stem of a lotus that supports a water pot or a vase.