Tibet, Chakrasamvara – lotus mandala

842-1206 CE, Tibet, Cakrasamvara, copper alloy, eight-petal lotus mandala, closed, location in Tibet not specified, 50663 on Huntington Archive

The eight petals of the lotus mandala are richly decorated on both sides with a multitude of characters.

The stem features an ascetic buddha (?) flanked by various bodhisattvas seated inside scrolling lotuses and holding the stem of a lotus in their left hand, their right hand making the fear-allaying gesture. The structure is supported by two naga kings atop a tall pedestal with two tiers of scrolling vines and animals (elephants at the top, two deer and a dharma wheel at the bottom) separated by rows of large beading.

842-1206, Tibet, Cakrasamvara, copper alloy, eight-petal lotus mandala, open, 50663 on Huntington Archive.

842-1206, Tibet, Cakrasamvara, copper alloy, eight-petal lotus mandala, central characters.

At the centre, Chakrasamvara (i.e. Samvara and his consort) surrounded by dakinis holding various attributes.

We saw a similar mandala, attributed to 12th century Northeastern India, on Bonhams

Tibet, Chakrasamvara (2)

842-1206 CE, Tibet, tsha-tsha with image of Cakrasamvara, clay, Tholing Monastery, Zanda, Ngari, item 50688 on Huntington Archive

Brahma’s head (with four faces) in one of his lower left hands identifies this four-head and twelve-arm figure as Samvara, in embrace with his consort. He holds the same attributes in his main hands, the hide of an elephant in his upper hands, a drum, an axe, a flaying knife, a vajra stick in the remaining right hands, a (broken) ritual staff, a skull cup, a noose, and Brahma’s head in the remaining left hands. There is an effigy of Buddha Akshobhya in his hair. Vajravarahi has both legs around his waist, according to a tradition set by mahasiddha Luipa.

Circa 12th century possibly, Tibet, Samvara in yab-yum, stone, at the Dharamsala monastery, item 8805 on Huntington Archive

On this stone sculpture the ritual staff is in his lower left hand.

Early 17th century, Tibet, Cakrasamvara, gilt bronze, location in Tibet not specified, item 50947 on Huntington Archive

Traditionally he has a crescent moon, a sun disc, and a visvajra in his hair, plus a with a wish-granting gem at the top (and sometimes a half-vajra). He wears a tiger skin loin cloth and a garland of severed heads, she wears a bone apron and a garland of skulls.

17th century or later, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, stone, 18,5 cm, private collection, Asian Art lot 95, 6th December 2013, Lempertz.

In his sahaja heruka form, with one head and two arms, in embrace with his consort and holding the vajra sceptre and vajra bell across her back.

Pala India, Samvara (3)

12th century, Pala India, Chakrasamvara, polychrome copper alloy, private collection, photo on Bonhams

Standing on a lotus pedestal at the centre of a lotus mandala, Samvara in his four-head and twelve-arm form embraces Vajravarahi, who holds a skull cup and a flaying knife. They are adorned with the usual wrathful ornaments and both have red hair. He has a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell in his main hands, an elephant hide in the upper ones, the remaining right hands hold a drum, a flaying knife, an axe, a vajra stick; the remaining left ones hold a noose, a skull cup, Brahma’s head, a ritual staff.

Circa 11th century, Northeastern India, Bihar, Samvara, bronze, photo nº 6196 in the Huntington Archive, at the Indian Museum in Kolkata (India).

Samvara with the same morphology and attributes, standing alone on Kalaratri and Bhairava, who symbolise ignorance and ego.

Nepal, Samvara (8)

 

13th-14th century, Nepal, Samvara and Vajravarahi, gilt bronze with pigments, private collection.

Samvara, with four heads and twelve hands, embraces his consort with his main hands in which he holds a vajra sceptre and a bell. His upper hands hold an elephant hide stretched across his back, the other hands traditionally hold a drum, an axe, a flaying knife, a vajra-handled stick to his right, a skull cup, a noose, Brahma’s head with four faces, a staff, to his left, some of them missing here.

17th century, Nepal, Samvara with consort, bronze with traces of gilding, private collection, The Decorative Arts Sale lot 147, 23rd March 2011, Christie’s.

Vajrayogini holds a skull cup and a flaying knife. The couple tread on a couple of demons.

16th-18th century, Nepal, unidentified (labelled ‘Adi Buddha’), gilt bronze, item 82.313 at the National Museum in New Delhi (India).

This male figure in embrace with his consort makes the fear-allaying gesture with his right hand and holds a long-life vase in the other (unlike White Chakrasamvara, who would have two in his right hand – and the Adi Buddha holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell).

Tibet, Chakrasamvara

14th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara with consort, gilt bronze with stone inlay (on a copper alloy base), Fine Asian Art lot 59, 7th December 2021, Nagel.

Strictly speaking, Chakrasamvara refers to Samvara, the main deity in the yoga tantra tradition, when in union with his consort, Vajravarahi (who doesn’t have the head of a sow attached to her own in this context). In his sahaja heruka form Samvara has one head (with a third eye) and two arms, and stands in embrace with Vajravarahi, holding a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell across her back. She holds a skull cup and a flaying knife. His hair is tied in a topknot and usually decorated with a half-vajra on a wish-granting gem. They stand on two prostrate figures meant to be Red Kalaratri (who embodies ignorance) and Black Bhairava (who embodies the ego).

Circa 17th century, Tibet, Samavara and Vajravarahi, bronze, Asian Art lot 122, 2nd November 2021, Koller,

On this Pala revival sculpture we can see the visvajra and the crescent moon that normally decorate his hair (there should also be a sun disc somewhere).

18th century, Tibet, Samvara (and) shakti, polychrome clay, private collection, photo on Rossi & Rossi

A non-tantric form of Samvara with three heads and six arms, standing in union with his consort, who has a skull cup filled with blood in her left hand. He holds a sword, a long-life vase, and a vajra sceptre in his right hands, a skull cup, a trident, and a (missing) bell in the others. His back is covered with a flayed human skin, an elephant hide, and a lion hide (the head of the elephant, a human hand, a lion’s paw show under his middle right arm). Apart from the usual skull crowns and bone ornaments, he wears a tiger skin loin cloth and a garland of severed heads, she wears a leopard skin and a garland of skull. His flaming hair is tied with a snake.

Circa 18th century, Tibet or Mongolia, silver (with cold gold and pigments), with a parcel-gilt silver shrine box, private collection, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art lot 53, 16th March 2015, Bonhams.

Many sculptures of Samvara in Tibet and Nepal depict him in his four-head and twelve-arm form, holding the hide of an elephant in his upper hands. When in embrace with his consort he holds a drum, an axe, a vajra sceptre, a flaying knife, a vajra stick or a trident in the remaining right hands, a skull cup, a noose, a bell, Brahma’s head, a ritual staff in the remaining left ones (not necessarily in the same order).

Tibet, Samvara – various forms (13)

Circa 1370, Tibet, Densatil, Chakrasamvara, gilt copper alloy, photo in an article by Jean-Luc Estournel (Fig. 134), at the Capital Museum in Beijing (China).

Samvara in his sahaja heruka form is always in embrace with his consort, Vajravarahi, who holds a skull cup and a flaying knife (or two vajra sceptres). He holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell behind her back.

Circa 1370, Tibet, Densatil, Chakrasamvara, gilt copper alloy, private collection photo by Hanhai in the same article (Fig. 128).

With four heads and twelve hands, in which holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell (main hands), an elephant hide (upper hands), a drum, a (missing) axe, a flaying knife, a (missing) vajra stick or trident (remaining right hands), a (missing) ritual staff, a skull cup, a noose, Brahma’s head with four faces (remaining left hands). They wear the usual wrathful ornaments, including a garland of skulls and a bone apron for her, a garland of severed heads and a tiger skin for him.

Circa 16th century?, Tibet or Nepal?, Chakrasamvara (mislabelled ’11th century, Cambodia, Hevajra), private collection, photo on Werner Forman Archive.

The attributes in his hand identify this male character as the same form of Samvara (vajra sceptre and bell in his main hands, Brahma’s head, a noose, a skull cup, a ritual staff in his remaining left hands, a drum in the other visible right hand).

Circa 1370, Tibet, Densatil, Chakrasamvara, gilt copper alloy, photo here from above-mentioned article (Fig. 120), at the Capital Museum in Beijing (China).

A similar form but with only one head.

Tibet, Samvara – various forms (12)

The posts on Samvara in the Tibetan section of this blog have been updated (repeated images have been removed, links have been added, etc.).

14th-15th century, Central Tibet, Densatil, Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi, gilt bronze (with cold gold, pigments, turquoise), private collection, photo on Christie’s

Samvara with four heads and twelve arms, standing in union with his consort, the pair adorned with skull crowns, bone jewellery, a garland of severed heads form him, a garland of skulls for her. His tiger skin loin cloth is partially sculpted, the head of the animal is barely visible over his left knee, and partially incised (on the back of the sculpture). They both have a festooned belt/apron with Nepalese style ‘raining jewel’ pendants.

Circa 14th century, Tibet, Samvara with consort, gilt bronze, private collection, photo on Christie’s, Paris.

Circa 14th century, Central Tibet, Chakrasamvara, gilt copper repoussé, private collection, photo on asianart.com.

In his sahaja heruka form, Samvara has one head and two arms. He stands in embrace with Vajravarahi, crushing two victims, and holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell behind her back. She holds a skull cup and a flaying knife or two vajra sceptres. (The above is labelled ‘White Chakrasamvara’ on the website, a form which is usually seated and always holds two long-life vases).

Dali Kingdom, wrathful figures

The Dali Kingdom (937-1253) embraced the Buddhist faith already present in the area (now the Yunnan province of China). Apart from sculptures of buddhas and bodhisattvas with distinctive features (especially Avalokiteshvara), its workshops produced portable metal sculptures of wrathful deities cast in a unique style, somewhat reminiscent of works from nearby Tibet.

12th-13th century, Dali Kingdom, Mahakala, bronze, 41,5 cm, private collection, photo on Bonhams

This striking statue depicts Mahakala in his four-arm form, holding a rosary and a drum in his upper hands, a skull cup in his lower left hand, the right one in a position suggesting it once clutched a staff – rather than the expected flaying knife. He is adorned with snakes and jewellery, a three-skull tiara, a garland of severed heads, an effigy of a Vairocana in his hair (see close up on HAR ). He wears a tiger skin knotted over a skirt-like garment, a scarf, and sandals.

12th-13th century, Dali Kingdom, Mahakala, bronze with traces of gilding, 25 cm, private collection, photo on asianart.comand HAR

The same form of Mahakala but seated (and one arm missing), with similar features such as the muscular body, the shape of the face, the large size skulls on his tiara and heads on his garland, the pleated garment, and the sandals. A rear view on the HAR link shows three skulls on the back of the garland (rather than freshly severed heads).

Unlabelled (circa 12th century?, Mahakala?, gilt metal), Dali Kingdom, photo on HAR, at the Musée Guimet in Paris (France).

This four-arm figure also has an effigy of Vairocana in his hair. He holds a (broken) sword and a drum in his upper hands, a skull cup in the lower left hand, once again the implement in his lower right hand is missing. The buffalo on which he sits is not normally associated with Mahakala but the iconography corresponds to him (the reddish stepped throne is probably from a different period).

13th century, Dali Kingdom, Krishna Yamari, cast iron, at the Art Institute of Chicago (USA).

A rare example of Black Yamari (a form of Yamantaka) with six heads, six arms, and six legs, seated on a buffalo. He holds a sword and a lasso in his main hands, a vajra sceptre and a vajra stick in his remaining right hands, a skull cup and what may be a vajra bell in the remaining left hands.

12th-13th century, Dali Kingdom, Samvara, bronze with traces of gilding and red lacquer, private collection, photo on Christie’s

Samvara with four heads and twelve arms, standing alone on a single lotus base, his flaming hair decorated with the effigy of a buddha (traditionally Akshobhya). He holds the hide of an elephant in his upper arms, a drum, a vajra sceptre, a vajra bell, a (broken) vajra stick, and Brahma’s head (with four faces) in the others. The missing attributes are likely to be a skull cup, a flaying knife, an axe, a sword.

Tibet, Samvara – various forms (11)

17th-18th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, gilt bronze with stone inlay, private collection, photo on Christie’s.

A rare sculpture of Samvara in his 4-head and 12-arm form, his main hands crossed over his heart and clutching a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell now missing, his Chinese-style topknot topped with a wish-granting gem. All that remains from his implements is a skull cup, in one of his left hands. His upper hands would have held the hide of an elephant stretched across his back. The other hands may have held a drum, a flaying knife, a trident, a sword, a lasso, an axe, and another flaying knife or a curved knife. A tiger skin is loosely knotted over his lower garment. The victims under his feet are Kalaratri and Bhairava, who embody ignorance and ego.

18th century, Tibet, Samvara (labelled ‘dharmapala’), bronze, private collection, photo by Christie’s, sale 4026 lot 2559.

Samvara always has a crescent moon, a sun disc, and a visvajra adorning his chignon.

16th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, gilt bronze with turquoise inlay, private collection, photo on Christie’s

Strictly speaking, the name Chakrasamvara refers to Samvara in union with his consort, Vajrayogini.

In their sahaja heruka form, he has one head with three eyes, his hair tied in a topknot topped with a half-vajra on a wish-granting gem, two hands crossed over her back, in which he holds a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell, two legs crushing two victims. Vajrayogini holds a skull cup and a flaying knife or two vajra sceptres, as above.

16th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, gilt bronze and turquoise inlay, private collection, photo on Christie’s

With four heads and 12 arms, in union with his consort, he holds the hide of an elephant in his upper hands, a vajra sceptre and a bell in his main hands, a drum, an axe, a flaying knife, and a vajra stick (missing here) in the remaining right hands. In the remaining left hands he normally holds a noose, a skull cup, a ritual staff, and Brahma’s head with four faces. On this picture, she has both legs around his waist, following the Luipa tradition, and holds a skull cup and a flaying knife. 

17th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, bronze with cold gold and polychromy, private collection, photo on Christie’s

They are traditionally adorned with skull crowns, bone jewellery, a garland of severed heads for him, a garland of skulls for her ; he wears a tiger skin loin cloth, she wears a bone apron. His implements are not always in the same hand. The above holds the ritual staff in the second left hand from the top, and Brahma’s head in the last, dangling against his leg.

17th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara (labelled Hevajra), stone, private collection, photo on Hardt

This one holds, from top to bottom, a skull cup, a noose, Brahma’s head, and a ritual staff in his remaining left hands. On the other side the hand immediately below the upper one appears to have lost its implement, then there is a flaying knife, an axe, and a trident instead of a vajra stick – which corresponds to the Nepalese iconography.

16th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, gilt bronze with stone inlay, private collection, photo on Christie’s

17th century, Tibet or Nepal, Chakrasamvara, stone, private collectio, photo on Sotheby’s

The head of the skinned elephant and the head of Brahma are both clearly visible on this stone work.

18th century, Tibet, Chakrasamvara, gilt bronze with cold gold and pigments, on a silver base, private collection, photo on Hardt

A rare work with a silver lotus base-cum-victims. Samvara holds a curious object, like a triangular flag with two holes, in his lower right hand.

Pala India, Samvara (2)

11th century, Northeastern India, Samvara, stone, photo here at the Indian Museum in Kolkata (India).

In his four-head (only three visible here) and twelve form, Samvara always holds the hide of an elephant stretched across his back in his upper hands, a vajra sceptre and a vajra bell in his main hands crossed over his heart. On this stele, the remaining left hands hold, from bottom to top, a ritual staff, Brahma’s head with four faces, a noose, a skull cup, which are the implements he has when in embrace with his consort. Those in the remaining right hands could be a vajra stick, a flaying knife, an axe, a drum. Above his head are two garland holders, known as vidyadharas, and a four-arm dakini – another three stand below him, each carrying a ritual staff and brandishing a drum or a skull cup. More characters are carved below the lotus pedestal.

12th century, North-eastern India, Samvara, bronze with cold gold and pigment, private collection, photo on Christie’s (Paris)

The same form of Samvara, with a clearly visible elephant hide across his back, and the same attributes as before in his main hands. The remaining left hands hold Brahma’s head, a noose, a skull cup, a ritual staff, the remaining right hands hold a trident, a flaying knife, an axe, a drum, these last four implements he usually has when depicted alone.