Retinue Figure for a Tantric Deity

Artist

Mongolian (Mongolian)

Date

19th century

Medium

Bronze, pigments

Dimensions

Work : 2 3/8 x 2 1/4 x 1 1/4 in. (6.03 x 5.72 x 3.18 cm)

Credit Line

Hope College Collection, Gift of David Kamansky and Gerald Wheaton

Object Number

2021.21.4

Label

Many wrathful tantric deities are portrayed in paintings accompanied by multiple attendants and retinue figures, many of whom take the form of ogres or demons. This small sculpture of a blue-skinned demon riding on the back of a white-skinned human may be such a retinue figure. If so, it probably once belonged to a larger set of sculptures that would have been displayed on an altar in a Buddhist temple or private dwelling.