Details
DISTEMPER ON CLOTH
Image: 21 7/8 x 15 3/4 in. (55.5 x 40 cm.)
Provenance
Private European Collection, before 1979
Distinguished European Collection
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Lot Essay

Sitatapatra is white in colour, this awe-inspiring deity has 1,000 faces, hands, and legs, and 10,100,000 eyes. The central primary face is white, surrounded by stacked coloured faces of yellow, green, red, and blue rising above. Adorned with jewels and colourful silk garments, she holds symbolic objects: a ritual vase, arrow, parasol, Dharma Wheel, vajra, lotus, sword, and more. Her left legs extend above worldly deities and animals, while the right legs press down on demonic forces. Eyes cover every limb, and she stands on a lotus, encircled by the flames of pristine awareness, embodying cosmic compassion and power.

At the top are seventeen tathagatas and on the right side is Palden Lhamo, and the left is Mahakala. The bottom register is populated by the Three Mahakala Brothers (gonpo che sum).

Compare with a closely related composition in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1961-177-1) and another formerly in the Van Der Wee Collection (HAR100629).

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