Producer unknown to us
Figurine of Magzor Gyalmo
Aisa, China, Tibet
Early 19th century
Bronze, casted, painted, gilt
Hermann Freiherr Speck von Sternburg (diplomat) collected the figure during his tenure in Beijing from 1891–97
Purchased by the museum from Sternburg in 1909
OAs 6782
Magzor Gyalmo, meaning the “Queen who Repels Armies,” is one of a group of enlightened female patron deities in Vajrayana Buddhism, known in Tibetan as Shri Devi or Palden Lhamo. She is a wrathful emanation of the peaceful goddess Sarasvati, who is popular in Hinduism as well as Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism.
Magzor Gyalmo is always depicted riding a mule over an ocean of blood and body parts. Her right arm swings a club, while her left hand holds a skull, like a bowl filled with the brains of a killed enemy. She wears a rope necklace with the heads of slain enemies as pendants.
She is the protector of the 14 incarnations of the Dalai Lama and the protector of Tibet. At the same time, she is honored as the protector of faith (Darma Pala) and wisdom and helps the worshippers overcome their inner and outer obstacles on their path to spiritual fulfillment.
From 1891 to 1897, Hermann Freiherr Speck von Sternburg (1852–1908) worked as a diplomat at the German Imperial Legation in Beijing. As the son of a wealthy Leipzig merchant family, he had the necessary financial means to pursue his passion for collecting here. He probably acquired a significant portion of his Buddhist art from Buddhist temples and monasteries in the capital, as his records indicate.
Dietmar Grundmann