Tibet, Guhyasamaja – retinue figures

Circa 1360, Tibet, Densatil, Amitabha aspect of the Guhyasamaja retinue, gilt copper alloy, photo after Huang Chunhe from an article on Densatil by Jean-Luc Estournel, at the Capital Museum in Beijing (China).

This princely figure with three heads, each with three eyes, and six arms (see close up on the above link) holds a lotus and a sword in his upper hands, the stem of a lotus supporting a dharma wheel and a vajra bell in his main hands, a lotus supporting an object difficult to identify in his middle left hand, the sixth attribute is broken.

Circa 1407-1408, Tibet, Densatil, Amitabha aspect of the Guhyasamaja retinue, gilt copper alloy, photo as above, Fig. 245, at the Capital Museum in Beijing (China).

In his middle right hand this one holds a lotus topped with a small vajra sceptre and in the left one he has a lotus topped with a triple gem (triratna).

Circa 1386, Tibet, Densatil, Ratnasambhava from the Guhyasamaja retinue possibly, gilt copper alloy, photo Michael Henss from the same article, Fig. 182.

Also with three heads (but no third eye) and six arms, this character holds his attributes directly in his hands: a dharma wheel, a vajra sceptre, a sword, a vajra bell, the lower right hand is cupped as if to hold an object such as a visvajra, a triple gem or a vase, the middle right hand holds the stem  of a broken lotus or the handle of a broken implement.

The following were published with sculptures of Akshobhyavajra Guhyasamaja. In the light of Jean-Luc Estournel’s work the information needs updating and, since they are definitely retinue figures, they have been moved to this post.

14th century, Tibet, six-armed yidam, possibly Akshobhyavajra or a retinue figure, gilt copper alloy, private collection, photo on Sotheby’sUpdate: Circa 1434, Densatil, Vairocana from the Guhyasamaja retinue, Fig.332 in the aforesaid article.

Unlike Akshobhyavajra, this three-headed figure is alone. He holds a wheel and a bell in the main hands, a lotus  and a vajra sceptre in the remaining right hands, a sword and a flaming jewel in the other left hands. He is seated on a single lotus atop a cut-out throne supported by two lions and decorated with a vase containing scrolling lotuses.

16th century, Tibet, Guhyasamaja retinue figure? (labelled ‘Amoghasiddhi’), gilt copper alloy and stone inlay, private collection, photo by Nagel, 2015.  

Update: Circa 1434, Densatil, deity from the Guhyasamaja retinue, Fig. 331 from the aforesaid article.

A similar character, holding a sword and a bell in the main hands, a wheel and a flaming jewel in the upper hands, a vajra sceptre and a lotus flower in the lower hands. seated on a single lotus over a throne decorated with studded leaves, an embossed visvajra (associated with Amoghasiddhi and a few more deities), foliage and thick beading, the plinth finely incised with a floral motif.

This single figure also has the effigy of a buddha behind his crown.

14th century, Tibet, Ratnasambhava, gilt copper with gems and painted details, private collection, photo on Sotheby’s Update: circa 1360, Densatil, probable aspect of Ratnasambhava, Fig. 84 in the aforesaid article.

A Nepalese-style three-head and six-arm deity holding a triple gem and a bell in his main hands, a sword and broken implements in the others. The lower part of the lotus throne is decorated with visvajras surrounded with foliage, and upright vajras in between. Sotheby’s tell us that he has a tiny effigy of Akshobhya behind the central panel of his crown. We have seen several Akshobhyavajra Guhyasamaja retinue figures with a similar iconography but none with a triratna in one of the main hands. Although wisdom buddhas don’t normally have more than two hands Sotheby’s suggest that this is a form of Ratnasambhava seen in the thirty-two deity Guhyasamaja mandala.

16th-17th century, Tibet, Jnanadakini, gilt copper, private collection, photo on Koller Update: circa 1431-1432, Densatil, bodhisattva from the Guhyasamaja retinue, Fig. 286 in the same article.

14th century, Tibet, Guhyasamaja retinue figure, gilt copper alloy, photo on Christie’s

This rare sculpture depicts a retinue figure with the same attributes as Akshobhyavajra: a vajra sceptre and a bell in his main hands, a wheel and a lotus in the upper ones, a faceted jewel and a sword in the lower ones.

Tibet, Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra (2)

16th century, Tibet, Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra, gilt copper alloy with turquoise inlay, private collection, photo and details on Bonhams, Hong Kong

As explained by Edward Wilkinson on the above link, what distinguishes this entity from Guhyasamaja Akshobhyavajra (whose consort also has 3 heads and 6 arms) is that the latter has a third eye but Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra doesn’t. Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra is a form of Manjushri with three heads and six arms. Always seated, he may be alone or in embrace with his consort, in which case his main hands are crossed behind her back and usually empty instead of holding a vajra sceptre and bell. His other hands clutch, a sword, a blue lotus, a bow, an arrow, or, in Nepal, a wheel and a noose. Sparsavajra has the same morphology and holds the same attributes. 

Tibet, Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja

15th century, Tibet, Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja, gilt copper alloy (and stones missing), private collection, photo on Bonhams

We saw this work before, labelled Amoghapasha by a different source even though there is no pasha (noose) in any of his hands; also, the photo was the wrong way round. Bonhams identify him as ‘Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja’ and the photo is the correct way round. He has three heads and six hands, and holds a (broken) sword and a vajra sceptre in his right hands, the third one is plucking a triple lotus. His left hands hold a (broken) dharma wheel, a triple gem, and a vajra bell together with the stem of the lotuses. Guhyasamaja is a generic term which includes four entities. The Lokeshvara form is a meditational deity related to Amitabha, very rarely seen in sculpture.

16th-17th century, Tibet, Lokeshvara Guhyasamaja, gilt bronze with turquoise inlay, private collection, photo on Carter’s .

He may with his consort or alone, in which case he has one head and two arms or three heads and six arms as above. He is easily identified by the lotus in his left hand which he plucks with the right hand while also holding a bell in the left hand. His other attributes are a wheel, a vajra sceptre (right hands), a flaming sword, another lotus (left hands).

Tibet, Guhyasamaja – Manjuvajra

Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra is the meditational aspect of Manjushri. He is normally seated, often with his consort. He has three heads and six (or twelve) hands. The attributes in his hands are what differentiates him from Akshobhyavajra Guhyasamaja (seen in a previous post).

15th century, Tibet, Guyasamaja with consort, gilt copper, private collection, photo by Hanhai auction.

Two of his hands hold a bow and an arrow, his main hands embrace his consort, the other two hands hold a sword and a long-stem blue lotus. It is most unusual for him to have a third eye, yet this cannot be Akhobhyavajra as he never holds a bow and an arrow.

17th century, Central Tibet, Manjuvajra, gilt copper with stone inlay, at the Museu de Cultures del Mon in Barcelona (Spain).

17th-18th century, Tibet, Manjuvajra, gilt copper alloy with turquoise and carnelian inlay, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (USA).

His consort, Sparshavajra, also has three heads and six hands and holds the same attributes.

Late 16th century, Tibet, Manjuvajra Manjushri, gilt copper alloy, private collection, photo on Christie’s, Paris.

Circa 1100s, Tibet, Manjusri with his Sakti, (Guhyasamaja Manjuvajra on HAR ), yellow steatite, at the Cleveland Museum of Art (USA).

(Other sculptures of Manjushri in this form are published in Tibet >bodhisattvas>Manjushri).