清十八世紀 銅空行母立像

Vajrayogini is considered to be a female representation of complete Buddhahood, prevalent in all forms of Tibetan Buddhism. The present bronze depicts her in Khechara form, a representation made popular by the eleventh-century Indian mahasiddha, Naropa. The Khechara form subsequently gained prominence in the Sakya school of Vajrayana Buddhism introduced to Tibet by Naropa’s contemporary, Atisha (980-1054), but was also adopted by the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which was the predominant sect practiced in the Vajrayana temples of Beijing.
The dark patina of the present bronze is typical for Buddhist images created in China in the eighteenth century. Compare the present work with a similarly patinated example at the Rubin Museum of Art, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org) item no. 65470, dated to the eighteenth century. See, also, another example originally in the Collection of WGA, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no. 53403. Both the Rubin example and the example in the Collection of WGA retain the cold gold that would have once adorned the face of the present example.