TIBET, 14TH CENTURY

Striking in palette and composition, this early painting depicts the lion-headed goddess, Simhavaktra, also known as Simhamukha, a wisdom dakini according to the Sarma (new) traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. Balanced on one foot with her other leg raised to her body, she holds a skull cup in her left hand and a curved knife in her raised right hand, with a khatvanga staff in the crook of her arm. Her gaping mouth and bulging eyes are painted in a vibrant red and accentuated by the flaming aureole behind her body. A lineage, beginning with Vajradhara at top center, continues along the top register and down the sides of the painting, with Virupa readily identifiable just to the right of Vajradhara. Red Hayagriva and the Five Dakinis fill out the remainder of the side registers, and additional deities are included on the bottom register, with a donor and offerings in the bottom right corner. The painting is carried out in a Western Tibetan style with aspects of the burgeoning Beri (Newari) style present, including the charming, Nepalese-style faces of the subsidiary figures and the ornately painted flaming aureole behind Simhavaktra, which incorporates intricate foliate scroll that is characteristic of the style.