A large gilt copper alloy figure of Mahachakra Vajrapani, Central Tibet, 15th century

Benny Rustenburg, Hong Kong, 8th May 2006.

Mahachakra Vajrapani or Chag-dor Khor-chen (as he is known in the Tibetan language) is depicted subduing a snake, symbolizing his wrathful nature and his ability to transform negative emotions into positive virtues. The sculpture gives special emphasis to his yidam or meditational form, showing him consuming the snake's venom, a powerful image in the symbolic language of Tantric Buddhism. He also appears in union or yab-yum with his consort, the details of which are fully articulated on the underside of the sculpture.

This refined sculpture depicts Vajrapani in the form of a fully enlightened being that practitioners imagine in their mind’s eye during tantric meditation. Within the Gelugpa tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the Mahachakravajrapani Tantra holds significance, for which this sculpture may have been commissioned, the teachings around this deity are known to have been passed down to the founder of the tradition, Je Tsongkhapa Lobzang Drakpa (1357-1419), by his teacher Dondrub Rinchen (1309-1385). Nevertheless, there is more than one lineage related to this teaching transmission, one of which goes back to the Indian mahasiddha Shavaripa and the 11th-century Tibetan translator Chokyi Gyaltsen. 

The anonymous sculptor of the present figure skillfully captured the intense and potent imagery of Mahachakra Vajrapani, portraying him with robust limbs and a commanding pose. The hands are particularly strong, with Vajrapani's right hand in the abhayamudra or ‘fear-dispelling gesture’, held assertively by his consort's side. The artist adorns Mahachakra-Vajrapani with intricate beaded swags and snakes with captivating gazes peeking out between his legs.  

The present sculpture is closely comparable to a 15th-century figure of the same deity in Gems of Beijing Cultural Relics Series, Beijing, 2000, p. 148. Also see a smaller example (at 8½ inches high including its base) sold at Bonhams Paris, 12th June 2023, lot 25 and an 8-inch-high example (also including its base) sold at Christie’s Paris, 16th December 2022, lot 173.