Sino-Tibetan Gilt Bronze Hayagriva with Consort Vajravarahi, circa 1800, Tibet

The wrathful deity Hayagriva can be identified by the small horse head rising from the top of his central face. In this rare form, he has four faces (three wrathful faces, plus the horse face), eight arms, four legs, and a large and dramatic pair of garuda wings which radiate outwards from his back. In front, he holds his consort Vajravarahi. The two joined in yab-yum.

Hayagriva and Vajravarahi stand upon a louts pedestal. They trample human figures underfoot. The human figures represent the base desires of the ego, which give rise to suffering, which fuels the cycle of samsara.

Hayagriva wears multiple protective elements, including a crown of skulls, a necklace of human heads, an elephant skin cloak and a tiger skin skirt. Both he and his consort hold implements in each hand. His consort is festooned in garlands of jewels and wears a necklace of human skulls. A halo of flames surrounds them.

Hayagriva is an important and powerful figure in Buddhism. Known as “The Horse Headed One”, Haygriva is considered a wrathful embodiment of compassion, and an emanation of both Amitabha and Avalokiteshvara.

The sculpture is richly gilt and cast in bronze in three parts: Hayagriva and his consort, the flame mandorla, the lotus base. The lotus base sealed to the underside with a copper base plate inscribed with a double vajra (visvajra).

Provenance:
Paul B. Dombrowski (1935 – 2021), WI