Footnotes

A GILT COPPER ALLOY FIGURE OF KURUKULLA
TIBET, 15TH/16TH CENTURY

西藏 十五/十六世紀 銅鎏金智行佛母像

Provenance:
With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s

The goddess Kurukulla belongs to a set known as the, 'mar chen kor sum' or the Three Great Red Deities, which feature Takkiraja from the Guhyasamaja Tantra and Maharakta Ganapati from the Chakrasamvara Tantra. Dancing atop the supine body of the Hindu god Rahu, the goddess draws a bow and arrow symbolizing her power to bewitch the hearts of kings and men through the recitation of her mantras. Her mantra appears in the Hevajra Tantra (c. late 8th-10th centuries) and a tantric text that was translated into Tibetan by a disciple of Atisha (982-1054). In some ritual contexts, Kurukulla is associated with Tara, the Buddhist goddess of compassion. In both its modelling and dimensions, this figure is nearly identical to an image of Vajraghanta from this sale, indicating that both belong to the same set (see lot 15).

This Buddhist enchantress, whose origins derive from village magic, is naturalistically modeled with sturdy limbs, conveying a sense of forcefulness. Kurukulla wears a long garland of severed heads, each vividly rendered, symbolizing negative attitudes being completely cut off. At the same time, the detailed treatment of her hair, crown of skulls, and beaded jewelry adds delicacy to the casting. Her presence interposed between a wrathful and peaceful state, defines her activity of enticing and magnetizing used as the means to subjugate and control all passions.

See a closely related gilt bronze of Mahamaya yab-yum in the collection of the Dayton Art Institute (1980.12), though the latter contains features more closely associated with the style of Densatil. Compare also to a tantric goddess sold at Sotheby's, London, 5 June 1989, lot 56. A stylistic feature that both dakinis share in common is an apron with short, beaded loops and long tassels, both of which are embellished with inset stones. Kurukulla's skull crown and large circular earrings are also treated in a similar manner. Compare the lotus throne with a gilt bronze Vajradhara attributed to the late-15th/early-16th century, published in Rhie and Thurman, Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet , 1991, p. 357, no. 147.