A FINE GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF JAMBHALA

Description:

Tibet, 17th/18th cent.
H. 12,4 cm
Jambhala is primarily known as the god of wealth and is one of the most frequently worshipped deities in Tibetan Buddhism. He is invoked to avoid the worldly distractions associated with earning a living so that practitioners can concentrate on their spiritual training. Here, a skilful artisan has depicted the deity in her full, corpulent splendour, symbolic of the abundance that Jambhala is able to grant. Jambhala offers a bijapuraka fruit with his outstretched right hand, while his left hand massages the neck of a magical mongoose and makes it spit out three strands of jewels from its bulging belly. The deity's right foot rests comfortably on the mouths of not one, but three money pots, while she is clad in sumptuous jewellery that hints at the wealth she contains. With these delightful details, the master hand has created a vision of Jambhala with wide-open eyes and a faint smile that appears alert and engaged - a reminder of the deity's imminent presence in the mortal realm. Magnificent fire gilding, stone setting.
South German private collection, - Very slightly chipped, the base with minor re-gilt section