Tibet, Magzor Gyalmo (3)

Shri Devi, of Hindu origin and known in Tibet as Palden Lhamo, is the wrathful aspect of various female entities. In portable sculpture her most common form is Shrimati (Magzor Gyalmo in Tibetan), a wrathful aspect of Sarasvati with one head, three eyes, two arms, and two legs, who sits sideways on a mule or a kiang, riding across a sea of blood and using the hide of her dead son as a saddle.

18th century, Tibet, Shri Devi, gilt copper alloy, 20,2 cm, The Claude de Marteau Collection Part IV, lot 33, 6th October 2023, Bonhams (Hong Kong).

She wears silk garments, a tiger skin loin cloth, a girdle of snakes, a garland of severed heads, a five-skull crown, and has an umbrella or a canopy above her head (often missing from sculptures). Her flaming hair stands on her head, she chews a corpse, and may wear two different earrings: a snake and a lion. Her attributes are a vajra-tipped staff or club (also missing here) that she brandishes in her right hand and a skull cup filled with magic substances, blood, and a mustard seed, held before her heart.

18th century, Tibet or China?, Magzor Gyalmo, gilt copper alloy with pigment and stone inlay, Himalayan Collection inventory nº Hb/20.D, Museo d’Arte Orientale, Turin (Italy).

Other distinctive features are a crescent moon in her hair and a sun disc on her navel. She usually carries five magic weapons: a tally stick hanging from her belt, a bag of disease, red curses, a pair of dice, fastened at the front of her mount’s harness, a ball of variegated wool, hanging at the back. The harness is actually a long snake knotted and tied around the animal.

Tibet, Shri Devi – various forms

There are various forms of Shri Devi, a dharmapala (protector of the doctrine) known as Palden Lhamo in Tibet. Most of them have one head with three eyes, two arms, and ride or sit sideways on a kiang or a mule (except in her rare Oden Barma form, which has no mount).

Circa 15th century, Tibet, Sri Devi, sandalwood with ivory, turquoise, and coral, traces of paint, 20 cm, photo: courtesy of Ulrich von Schroeder (Buddhist Sculptures in Tibet Volume Two, Visual Dharma Publications, Hong Kong, p. 904 pl. 212A), at the Palkhor Chode monastic complex in Gyantse (Tibet).

A Chinese-style parcel-gilt image of Dudsolma, a wrathful aspect of Lakshmi who has a skeleton-like blue-black body, four arms, an angry face with three eyes, bare teeth, a corpse in her mouth, red-orange hair, and two different earrings (a snake and a lion). She wears a skull crown, bone and snake jewellery, the hide of an elephant on her back, and, according to some sources, the hide of an ox around her waist, tied with a naga. The above has black hair and wears a loin cloth with a geometrical pattern. Her broken upper right arm would have brandished a sword, the left one usually holds a trident (we have seen two with another sword), her lower hands hold a skull cup and a kila peg or a flaying knife (Kagyu tradition).

Unlabelled (15th century?, Tibet, Shri Devi, painted clay on a wooden armature), photo on HAR , at the Kumbum in Gyantse (Tibet).

In the Sakya tradition, the lower left hand holds a spear.

Circa 13th century, Tibet, Sri Devi, sLha mo dung skyong ma, stone, 18 cm, Nepalese artist, photo as before, p. 905 pl. 212C, at the Drigung Thil monastery (Tibet).

Like Dorje Rabtenma, this form of the deity wields a sword in her right hand and holds a jewel-spitting mongoose in the other, but instead of sitting on a prostrate mount, she rides the animal across a sea of blood, led by her attendant, Makaravaktra. We saw one other example at the Smithsonian Institution.

Circa 13th century, Tibet, Sri Devi, stone with cold gold and pigments, 14,6 cm, Nepalese artist, photo as before, p. 898 pl. 209A, Potala Collection, Bla ma lha khang, inventory nº 2004, Lhasa (Tibet).

Magzor Gyalmo, her most common two-arm form, wields a vajra-tipped (skull-tipped in this case) sandalwood staff or club in her right hand and a skull cup filled with magic substances, blood, and a mustard seed in the other. She has a crescent moon in her headdress (the above has a disc), a sun disc on her navel, a miniature corpse in her mouth, a canopy of peacock feathers above her head, and wears a tiger skin loin cloth, a girdle of snakes, a garland of severed heads, a skull crown, bone jewellery, and usually two different earrings (a snake and a lion). She sits sideways on a kiang or a mule that crosses a sea of blood.

She sits on the hide of a her dead son and often displays her five magic weapons: a bag of disease, a pair of dice, red curses, usually hanging from a long snake at the front of her mount, a ball of variegated wool at the back, a tally stick hanging from her belt (or tucked into it), all perfectly visible on this example. 

Tibet, Magzor Gyalmo (2)

18th century, Tibet, Magzor Gyalmo (labelled ‘Vaisravana’, which is item MA12164), gilt bronze with turquoise inlay and pigments, photo by Thierry Ollivier on Images d’Art, item nº MA12165 at the Musée Guimet in Paris (France).

Magzor Gyalmo (Shri Devi, known as Palden Lhamo in Tibet) in her two-arm form, seated sideways on her kiang, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle, holding a skull cup before her heart and brandishing a sandalwood club. She chews a corpse, has a sun disc on her navel (not visible here), a crescent moon in her hair, and a parasol above her head. She has a third eye, wears a silk scarf, a five-skull crown, a garland of severed heads, bone jewellery, a tiger skin loin cloth, and a girdle of snakes. We can see her five magic weapons: a bag of disease hanging at the front of her mount, a couple of dice and red curses below (not very clear), a ball of variegated wool hanging at the back, a tally stick placed across her lap. The narrower part of the lotus pedestal probably fitted in a larger structure including her attendants, Simhavaktra (see a Sino-Mongol example at Musée Guimet) and Makaravaktra.

18th or 19th century, Eastern Tibet, dPal-ldan lHa-mo, brass, 23,6 cm, photo by Thierry Ollivier on Images d’Art , item nº MG21947 at the Musée Guimet in Paris (France).

On this example the dice and red curses are hanging below her knee, next to the bag of disease. She rides a mule across a sea of blood.

18th century, Tibet (or Sino-Tibetan?), Palden Lhamo, gilt bronze, 9,8 cm, private collection, photo on Christie’s (Paris).

 

Tibet, Shri Devi (14)

15th century, Tibet, Densatil, Lha mo, gilt copper alloy, photo here from an article on Densatil by JL Estournel.

But for the extra pair of hands this would be Dorje Rabtenma, a rare form of Shri Devi (Lhamo in Tibet) who always sits on a prostrate kiang or mule, on a human hide, brandishing a sword in her right hand and holding mongoose that vomits jewels in the other. The other two attributes are a lotus and possibly a danda stick. We saw a Dorje Rabtenma from Densatil on HAR (dated 15th century by JL Estournel, Fig. 312).

Tibet, Magzor Gyalmo

Himalayan portable sculptures of Shri Devi (Palden Lhamo in Tibet) often depict her in a two-arm form particularly popular in Tibet, known as Magzor Gyalmo (a wrathful aspect of Sarasvati).

18th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, gilt bronze with polychromy, private collection, photo on Nayef Homsi

Using the hide of her dead son as a saddle, she sits sideways on a kiang or a mule to ride across a sea of blood. She brandishes a vajra-tipped sandalwood club (missing here) in her right hand and holds a skull cup filled with magic substances, blood, and a mustard seed in the other. She has three eyes, a crescent moon in her flaming hair, a sun disc on her navel, and she chews a corpse. She wears a tiger skin loin cloth, a garland of severed heads, a skull crown, bone jewellery.

18th century, (China or Tibet?), Palden Lhamo, gilt and lacquered zitan wood (red sandalwood), private collection, auction 1154 lot 380, 5th November 2013, Christie’s, London.

On paintings she has a dark blue body. On this example we can see a tally stick tucked into her belt and other magical weapons, attached to a long snake tied around the kiang’s body: a bag of disease, a pair of dice, red curses.

18th century, Tibet, Shri Devi, gilt bronze (and red pigment), private collection, photo on Christie’s, Paris

The fifth magical weapon is a ball of variegated wool dangling at the back.

18th century, Tibet, Lhamo, (gilt copper alloy with pigments), private collection, photo from the Werner Forman archive here

Standing on both feet and brandishing a vajra sceptre, Makaravaktra leads her mount across a sea of blood with scattered body parts floating on the surface.

Tibet, Shri Devi (13)

17th-18th century, Tibet, Shri Devi (labelled ‘Hayagriva on horseback’), bronze, item 1970.364.24 at the Cantor Arts Center in Standord (USA).

Known as Palden Lhamo in Tibet, Shri Devi’s most popular form has one-head and two arms, a crescent moon in her hair, a sun disc on her navel, a miniature corpse between her teeth, a garland of severed heads around her neck, a parasol over her head (often missing). Adorned with a skull crown and bone jewellery, she rides a kiang across a sea of blood, often with limbs floating on the surface, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle. Her attributes are a skull cup filled with magic substances and a vajra-tipped staff or club (missing here). On this example her mount also chews a corpse and has a string of severed heads around the neck. Some magic weapons hang from a long snake tied around the animal (a ball of variegated wool at the back, a bag of disease filled with tissues and organs, some dice, a bundle of red curses at the front).

18th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, gilt copper alloy and pigments, item 1991.306.1 at the Cantor Arts Center mentioned above.

Traditionally she has a ‘demon cross-stick’ (tally stick) attached to her girdle, and may have peacock feathers in her hair.

Circa 18th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, polychrome wood and plaster of Paris, private collection, photo and close up on Sotheby’s .

Circa 18th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, polychrome wood and papier mâché, private collection, photo and close up on Sotheby’s .

Circa 1800, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, (parcel-gilt) bronze, private collection, photo on Christie’s .

A Mongolian-style set depicting Magzor Gyalmo with her two attendants, Makaravaktra, who leads her mount, and Simhavaktra next to her.

Tibet, Shri Devi (12)

14th-15th century, Central Tibet, Densatil Monastery, Palden Lhamo, copper alloy (and missing stones), private collection, photo on Bonhams .

A rare sculpture of Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi in sanskrit) in her four-arm form, known as Dudsolma in Tibet. She has one head with three eyes, bared fangs, flaming eyebrows. Her wrathful ornaments include a skull crown, a garland of severed heads, snakes, and bone jewellery. She wears a tiger skin around her waist, a human hide across her back, and sits sideways on a mule, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle. In her upper hands she holds a (broken) vajra sword and a stalk with a flower; her missing lower hand would have held a skull cup, the other holds a severed head.

17th-18th century, Tibet?, Shri Devi, gilt bronze (with cold gold and pigments), private collection, photo on Bonhams, San Francisco .

Her two-hand form, known as Magzor Gyalmo in Tibet. She sits sideways on a kiang, riding across a sea of blood, wielding a (missing) sandalwood staff or club, and holding a skull cup before her heart.

Circa 18th century, Eastern Tibet or Northern China, Lhamo, bronze with cold gold, pigments and stone inlay, photo by H. Dubois for aaoarts .

She has a sun disc on her navel, a crescent moon in her hair, a small corpse between her teeth, magic weapons hanging from a long snake tied around her mount (two dice, a bundle of red curses, a bag of disease at the front, a ball of variegated wool at the back) and some tally sticks fastened to her girdle.

18th century, China (or Tibet?), Magzor Gyalmo, bronze with cold gold, private collection, photo on Arte Himalayana.

18th century, Tibet, Shri Devi, bronze with cold gold (and pigment), private collection,  photo on Cambiaste .

Tibet, Shri Devi

16th-17th century, Tibet, Shri Devi, gilt polychrome zitan (red sandalwood), private collection, photo on Sotheby’s, Hong Kong .

Known as Magzor Gyalmo in Tibet, this popular two-arm form of Shri Devi has a dark blue body, three eyes, flaming hair standing on her head, a corpse between her teeth, and often two different earrings (a lion and a snake). She sits sideways on her mule or kiang to ride across a sea of blood, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle, brandishing a vajra-tipped club in her right hand, holding a skull cup filled with magic substances in the other, at heart level. On this example there is another dead body on her mount.

17th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, gilt bronze (copper alloy), private collection, auction 12449 lot 23, 15th September 2015, Christie’s.

18th century, Tibet (or China?), Palden Lhamo, gilt bronze, private collection, photo Artcurial .

She is traditionally adorned with a skull crown, a garland of severed heads, a girdle of snakes, and has a tiger skin loin cloth, a sun disc on her navel, a crescent moon in her hair.Her kiang often wears a string of severed heads around the neck. The ball of wool fastened at the rear with a long snake and the dice hanging at the front are part of her magic weapons.

Tibet, Shri Devi (10)

15th century, Tibet, Densatil, Lhamo, copper alloy, photo by Bruce M. White on Michael Carlos Collection at the Emory University in Atlanta (USA).

This is probably Dorje Rabtenma, who sits on a prostrate kiang, brandishes a sword (of which only the hilt remains) in her right hand and holds a mongoose in her left hand (missing here). She is adorned with a skull crown, a garland of severed heads, snakes and bone jewellery. Around her are 17 deities with a yaksha appearance (9 to her right and 8 to her left), five of them seated on a prostrate kiang like her, a sixth riding a bird, the others seated in a relaxed manner on a lotus, most of them holding a skull cup and a flaying knife (see close up on Himalayan Art Resources ).

18th century, Tibet or Mongolia, Shri Devi, brass with cold gold and pigment, photo ABS 073 on Fondation Alain Bordier , at the Tibet Museum in Gruyères (Switzerland).

Also with 1 head and 2 hands, the popular Magzor Gyalmo rides her mount across a sea of blood, on the surface of which body parts are floating. She sits sideways, using the hide of her son as a saddle, and holds a vajra-tipped sandalwood staff in her right hand and a skull cup full of magic substances in the other, at heart level. She is further identified by the crescent moon in her hair, the peacock feather parasol on top of it, and the sun disc over her navel.

17th-18th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, painted stone, private collection, photo on Lot Art  .

Magzor Gyalmo, her skin blue-black, her orange flaming hair topped with a parasol.

18th century, Tibet (or Sino-Tibetan?), Shri Devi, gilt bronze with stones and pigment, private collection, photo on Sotheby’s  .

Magzor Gyalmo, adorned with a skull crown, a garland of severed heads, snakes and bone jewellery, her magic weapons tied with snakes to her kiang: a couple of dice, a bag of disease and a bundle of red curses (under her right foot), a ball of variegated wool (under her left foot), a tally stick i usually attached to her girdle.

15th century, Tibet, Shri Devi, stone with pigments, photo on Fondation Alain Bordier, at the Tibet Museum in Gruyères (Switzerland).

Dudsolma, the four-arm form of Palden Lhamo, protectress of Tibet and patroness of Lhasa, also sits sideways on a kiang (or a donkey or mule) crossing a sea of blood, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle and displaying her magical weapons. Her attributes vary but always include a skull cup in one of her lower hands. The above holds a sword and a spear in her upper hands, a flaying knife in the lower left hand.

Tibet, Shri Devi (9)

16th century, Tibet, Magzor Gyalmo, stone, private collection, photo on Himalayan Art Resources

Among the various forms of Shri Devi the most frequently represented in portable sculpture is Magzor Gyalmo, the wrathful aspect of Sarasvati, who only has two arms. Her hair is decorated with a crescent moon, she has a sun disc on her navel, chews a miniature corpse, wields a vajra-tipped staff or club in her right hand and holds a skull cup at heart level in the other. She sits sideways on a kiang, using the hide of her dead son as a saddle, riding across a sea of blood. Her tiger skin loin cloth is held in place with snakes and the above example also wears a human hide on her back. She is adorned with a five-skull crown, a garland of severed heads and a silk scarf. Her attendants are Makaravaktra, the makara-headed dakini who leads her mount and Simhavaktra, the lion-headed dakini who follows behind.

16th century, Tibet, Palden Lhamo, painted stone, private collection, photo on Astamangala   

Magzor Gyalmo has five magical weapons. On this sculpture we can see a tally stick attached to her belt and a bag of disease dangling from a snake at the back of her mount. The others are a bundle of red curses and a pair of dice at the front, a ball of variegated wool at the back, fastened to a snake.

18th century, Tibet, Shri Devi, gilt bronze, private collection, photo on Millon

Dudsolma, a wrathful aspect of Lakshmi, has four arms. She is the patron of Lhasa and protectress of Tibet and the Dalai Lama. She usually holds a skull cup and a flaying knife , a kila or a spear in her main hands, a sword and another attribute in her upper hands. The latter may be a trident or a branch, but we have also seen a bow and an arrow, a scorpion or a second sword.