Collection: Bonhams London (Protector Deities)
Bonhams London (Protector Deities) | Protector Deities Main Page | Bonhams London (Painting. Spring, 2017)Protector Deities perform a function and and to accomplish that function of protection they can appear in any gender, or appearance: peaceful, semi-peaceful, wrathful, or animal-featured.
There are two general classes of protector deity based on there spiritual advancement, such as high spiritual attainment and low spiritual attainment. The two types of classes are called Wisdom Protector and Worldly Protector.
All five of the compositions below depict deities that belong to the Wisdom Protector class.
Two of the compositions are forms of the deity Mahakala: HAR # 2187, 2215. The red deity, Begtse Chen, is often referred to as red Mahakala: HAR #2208. The blue figure with the buffalo head is Yama Dharmaraja, HAR #2158, and belongs to the appearance category of Animal-featured. HAR #2196, Lakshmi, is the only female in the protector deities group. Although she has a third eye on the forehead, she is still considered to be in Peaceful Appearance based on her narrow eyes and passive expression.
Jeff Watt 3-2017
