A parcel-gilt-bronze figure of Garwa Nagpo


18th century The protector deity seated on the back of a crisply-cast shaggy, long-horned goat on a rocky base with swirling currents of blood, his right arm raised, clad in boots and heavy robes with a billowing scarf, the bearded face with bared fangs and bulging eyes surmounted by a large square cap, sealed base. 18cm (7in) high.
|十八世紀 局部鎏金銅騎羊護法Garwa Nagpo, Damchen ('the Blacksmith'), is the main attendant deity to the protector deity Dorje Legpa and a protector deity in his own right. The two deities were likely indigenous to Tibet, but adopted into the Tibetan Buddhist canon after its earliest introduction under Padmasambhava. They are tasked with protecting the Revealed Treasure texts of the Nyingma tradition. See a related gilt-bronze figure of Garwa Nagpo, illustrated on Himalayan Art Resources, item no.20831.Compare with a related gilt-bronze figure of Garwa Nagpo, 18th century, which was sold at Sotheby's New York, 19 March 2014, lot 73.