Himalayan Art Resources

Item: Shri Devi (Buddhist Protector) - Retinue Figure

དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ། 吉祥天母(佛教护法)
(item no. 65252)
Origin Location Tibet
Date Range 1600 - 1699
Lineages Buddhist
Material Metal
Collection Rubin Museum of Art
Notes about the Central Figure

Classification: Deity

Appearance: Wrathful

Gender: Female

Interpretation / Description

Simhamukha (Lion-faced Attendant): from the retinue of Shri Devi, Magzor Gyalmo.

The Lion-Faced Attendant is the second of the two servants that accompany the popular female protector known as The Glorious Goddess, Queen with the Power to Turn Back Armies. The first servant has the head of a sea monster and leads the mule that serves as the mount for the Glorious Goddess. The Lion-faced Attendant follows behind, always attentive and looking upward, ready to perform any command of her mistress.

A large sculpture such as this would be created for a protector shrine within a large temple and would not be available for viewing by the general public.

The various parts of the sculpture, such as the hands, forearms, head and torso are cast individually and then assembled to create the finished figure. The head and upper torso of the Lion-faced Attendant are all that remain of this once magnificent and much larger sculpture of the Glorious Goddess and her two fearsome servants.

Jeff Watt 9-2004

Related Items
Exhibition Appearances
Exhibition: Female Buddhas at RMA

Thematic Sets
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi, Sculpture
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi, Retinue Figures
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi (Early Works, Sculpture)
Collection of RMA: Selected Sculpture
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi, Magzor Gyalmo (Rubin Museum)
Sculpture: Metal
Buddhist Protector: Shri Devi Main Page
Collection of Rubin Museum of Art: Sculpture (Gallery 1)
Sculpture, Metal: Buddhist Deities