Six-armed Avalokiteshvara Triad

STYLE: The art of the northwestern Indian area of Kashmir had a great influence on Tibetan Buddhist art, not only in terms of style but also for its development and depiction of early esoteric, or tantric, deities. Many of the earliest Himalayan bronzes depicting multi-headed and multi-limbed tantric deities are from this region, as is this six-armed form of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara. Typical for late Buddhist productions from the region are the pointed flaming halo, the curled hair to the sides of the head, the set-back chin best visible in profile, and the pointed veils behind the heads of the female figures.

CONTENT: In this triad Avalokiteshvara is represented in a form popular only in Kashmir. Seated with one leg pendant on a high lotus seat, his right hands hold a mala and perform the pensive and giving gestures while the left hands hold a stick with three branches (tridanda), a flask, and a lotus. Avalokiteshvara is flanked by two forms of the deity Tara, with their hands forming veneration gestures and holding lotuses. Three kneeling donors, one between the lotuses of the deities and two to the sides of the rock base, are also depicted.