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A GILT COPPER ALLOY SHRINE BOX FOR VAJRAKILA Etched onto a gilded box is the three-faced, six-armed form of
TIBET OR MONGOLIA, 18TH CENTURY Vajrakila, who embraces his consort while holding a three-sided
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 4731 dagger (phurba) to ward off demonic obstructions. Surrounded by a
Gau: 23.5 x 19 cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/2 in.) mandorla of licking flames, Vajrakila’s wrathful appearance is meant to
Tsatsa: 13 x 14.5 cm (5 1/8 x 5 3/4 in.) subdue all negative forces and obstacles.
HKD15,000 - 30,000 Gau boxes primarily served as protective amulets, the interior housing
a deity or guardian spirit, as seen here in the clay image which depicts
西藏或蒙古 十八世紀 銅鎏金普巴金剛佛龕 a warrior deity on riding a goat. Compare to an earlier gau depicting
the same deity (HAR 1783).
Provenance
Private California Collection, acquired in the 1980s
124 | BONHAMS
