GOLDEN BRONZE MAHAKALA SHADBHUJA STATUTE, Sino-Tibetan, 18th century Depicted standing and crushing two elephant-headed figures, his six arms radiating around his body and holding various attributes including the chintamani, kalasha, kartika and damaru, adorned with jewels, dressed in a dhoti tied at the waist, his ferocious face with three exorbitant eyes surmounted by a crown of skulls around shaggy hair; two attributes missing. H.25.7 cm (9 ¾ in.) Provenance: major European private collection A gilt-bronze figure of Mahakala Shadbhuja, Sino-tibetan, 18th century 十八世纪 铜鎏金大黑天像 来源 :重要欧洲私人珍藏，始于二十世纪初 White Mahakala Shadbuhuja, a different form of Mahakala, is one of the protectors of the treasures of wisdom in Tibetan Buddhism. Unlike the various other forms of Mahakala, the Shadbhuja Sita form ("The Six-Handed White Lord") is a deity of wealth. The cranial cup that rests in her main left hand would have contained jewels, rather than macabre remains. In addition, White Mahakala is iconographically distinguished by the elephant-headed deities on which he stands. A similar White Mahakala statue dated to the 17th/18th century is illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Status of Tibet, 2003, p.210, pl.200; see also a smaller White Mahakala statuette sold at Christie's New York, 21 March 2012, lot 801, and another, also smaller, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, 3 October 2018, lot 3696. White Mahakala Shadbuhuja is a variant form of Mahakala, and is one of the guardians of wisdom treasures in Tibetan Buddhism. In contrast to the various other forms of Mahakala, the Shadbhuja Sita ("The White Lord with Six Hands") form is a wealth deity. The skull cup that rests in his primary left hand would have contained jewels, rather than grisly remains. Furthermore, White Mahakala can be distinguished iconographically by the elephant-headed deities on which he stands. See a similar figure of white Mahakala dated 17th/18th century, illustrated in The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum: Buddhist Status of Tibet, 2003, p.210, no.200; see also a smaller white Mahakala sold at Christie's New York, March 21, 2012, Lot 801, and another white Mahakala Shadbuhuja, also smaller, sold at Sotheby's Hong Kong, October 3, 2018, Lot 3696.