TIBET, 17TH CENTURY

This charismatic bronze figure of a wrathful deity commands a mighty presence. A finely cast sculpture in a Tibeto-Chinese style, the wrathful deity strides in alidhasana, with the left leg bent at the knee and the right leg thrust to the side. The implement in his hands are now lost, thus obscuring the identity of this deity. He wears an animal pelt draped around his waist. His expression exudes power, like that of the Buddhist protector Mahakala, accentuated by bulging eyes and bared fangs. His flaming red hair is surmounted by a skull tiara. Compare the present lot to an 18^th Tibetan bronze figure of Mahakala, sold at Christie’s New York 28 September 2022, lot 55, for $25,200. While the comparable work retains its original base, it is slightly smaller in scale and without stone inlays. Both works are similarly gilt and polychromed, which may have been a later addition to the works.