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Unknown Artist
- Title
- Phalden Lhamo and her retinue
- Other titles:
- Phalden Lhamo Remati
Sri Devi riding a mule with attendant Gods - Place of origin
-
Tibet
- Year
- late 18th century-early 19th century
- Media category
- Painting
- Materials used
- distemper on sized cotton with silk brocade mount
- Dimensions
-
63.0 x 42.5cm linen section; 133.5 x 72.5cm overall
- Signature & date
- Not signed. Not dated.
- Credit
- Purchased 1962
- Accession number
- EP2.1962
- Location
- Not on display
- Further information
Phalden Lhamo is a major protector deity and the only goddess in the group of deities known as the Dharmapala. A favourite deity of the Gelukpa ('Yellow Hat') sect, Phalden Lhamo is regarded as a protector of the Dalai Lama and the city of Lhasa. As a protector deity, Phalden Lhamo is depicted with a wrathful demeanour, riding an untamed mule through a sea of entrails and blood. Blue-black and haggish with three bulging eyes, upturned nose, ferocious mouth and flaming hair topped by a skull crown, she holds a skull bowl filled with bleeding organs and plucked-out eyeballs, and brandishes a 'vajra'-topped club. Below, her retinue includes the minor female divinities ('dakinis') Makaravaktra' ('crocodile-faced'), who leads her mule, and Simhavaktra, the red-bodied, lion-faced deity. This 'thangka' retains its traditional silk brocade mount.
The Asian Collections, AGNSW, 2003, pg.61.
- Bibliography (1)
-
The Asian Collections Art Gallery of New South Wales 2003, 2003, 61 (colour illus.).
- Exhibition history (1)
-
A survey of Indian art (1967), Fisher Library, University of Sydney, 06 Sep 1967–23 Sep 1967.
