Dimensions: Height 13,4 cm Wide 7,1 cm Depth 5,8 cm

Weight: 350,2 grams

This bronze depicts Vajravārāhī, the wrathful manifestation of Vajrayoginī, a central deity of the tantric Buddhist pantheon. She is portrayed in dynamic dance, her right leg raised and her left trampling a supine figure, symbolizing the subjugation of ignorance and ego. In her right hand she wields the ritual curved knife (karṭrika), while her left hand holds the skull cup (kapāla), both attributes emblematic of her fierce and transformative power.

Her face is animated with a wrathful yet compassionate expression, crowned with a tiara of skulls and adorned with earrings, necklaces, and armlets. A garland of severed heads encircles her body, emphasizing her role as the destroyer of obstacles and liberator of sentient beings. The fine lotus base, with beaded rim and crisply incised petals, anchors the composition and reflects the high standard of metal casting in Tibet during the 15th century.

Figures of Vajravārāhī were particularly venerated within the Sakya and Kagyu tantric traditions, where she embodies ultimate wisdom united with compassion. Bronzes of this type served not only as icons for ritual meditation (sādhana), but also as protective images intended to safeguard practitioners on the tantric path.