Unidentified Buddhist Goddess with eight arms and three heads, with base

Accession Number
2006/2.64A&B

Title
Unidentified Buddhist Goddess with eight arms and three heads, with base

Artist(s)

Medium & Support
copper? with blue paint for hair and red for lips

Dimensions
3 15/16 in. x 3 1/4 in. x 1 13/16 in. ( 10 cm x 8.2 cm x 4.6 cm )

Credit Line
Gift of Ellen and Richard Laing

Physical Description
A miniature figure of a tantric goddess, very finely cast by the cire perdue (lost wax) method. The goddess is shown seated in lalitasana pose ("royal ease," one knee bent and the other relaxes) on a lotus dais, which is separately cast. She has 8 arms which are in variants of vitarka mudra (the gesture of teaching). She has three heads, with the two lateral heads seen here as partial profiles; each wears the five-petal tiara of Tibetan Buddhist ritual. Her skirt is unusual, looking to be made of leaves, instead of the usual dhoti. Her hair is painted blue and her lips red.

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Primary Object Type
figure

Rights
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