GUNGARVAA (SHRINE) WITH THE WRATHFUL PROTECTOR PALDEN LHAMO

Description:

Outer Mongolia, 19th ct.
Schrein H. 23,3 cm
Tsha tsha: clay, polychrome painted; shrine: Wood, vermilion colouring, and remains of traditional ornaments in gold, glass. In folk belief, dPal ldan Lha mo is perceived more according to her original form as a powerful deity, simultaneously as a protector and destroyer, and also as a fertility giver. The "Queen of War and Weapons" is described as follows: Her body is dark blue in colour, she has one face, and two arms. Two dakinis serve her as servants - Makaravaktra (l) and Shimhavaktra (r). Palden Lhamo is accompanied by the "goddesses of the four seasons". Immediately above the central depiction sits a Mahasiddha with a skull bowl in his left hand. A patriarch of the Gelugpa school (Dalai Lama?) is enthroned at the top right. Palden Lhamo is revered by the Dalai Lamas as a personal protector.
North German private collection, assembled prior 2007
Wear, traces of age, slightly chipped