Of rectangular form, finely engraved to depict Chakrasamvara striding in alidhasana with his consort Vajravarahi in yab-yum atop a lotus pedestal, the four-headed deity wearing a skull crown, his primary hands embracing his consort and holding a vajra and ghanta, the other eight hands outstretched and holding the flayed skin of a tiger, katvanga, kartika, trishula, kapala, noose, and severed head. Wearing long sashes, tiger skin and a garland of heads, supporting Vajravarahi with his thigh, the consort holding a chopper and wearing a beaded festooned belt.

Provenance: The Kienzle Family Collection, Stuttgart, Germany. Acquired between 1950 and 1985 by siblings Else (1912-2006), Reinhold (1917-2008), and Dr. Horst Kienzle (1924-2019), during their extensive travels in Asia. Subsequently inherited by Dr. Horst Kienzle and bequeathed to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, Germany. Released through museum deaccession in 2024. The Kienzle siblings were avid travelers and passionate collectors of Asian and Islamic art. During their travels, the Kienzle’s sought out and explored temples, monasteries, and markets, always trying to find the best pieces wherever they went, investing large sums of money and forging lasting relationships to ensure they could acquire them. Their fervor and success in this pursuit is not only demonstrated by their collection but further recorded in correspondences between Horst Kienzle and several noted dignitaries, businesses and individuals in Nepal and Ladakh. Their collection had gained renown by the 1970s, but the Kienzle’s stopped acquiring new pieces around 1985. Almost thirty years later, the collection was moved to the Museum für Asiatische Kunst, Radevormwald, opened by Peter Hardt in 2014. Before his death in 2019, Horst Kienzle bequeathed his entire property to Peter Hardt and legally adopted him as his son, who has been using the name Peter Kienzle-Hardt ever since.
Condition: Fair condition with old wear, weathering, and traces of use. Extensive encrustations and corrosion, a small loss to the upper edge.

Dimensions: Size 54 x 45 cm

The principal deities are flanked by standing bodhisattvas holding an alms bowl and trishula below a pair of wrathful heads centered by a flaming skull.

The powerful depiction of Chakrasamvara embracing his yogini consort is a highly energized visualization, such as would have been experienced by an advanced tantric master. These are key deities in the Vajrayana system, uniting two of the most powerful ideas in esoteric Buddhism, wisdom, embodied in Vajravarahi, and compassion, the essence of Chakrasamvara. His name, which translates as Circle of Bliss, embodies the powerful union of these two fundamental tenets of Buddhism. During Tantric meditation the union of these two principles is used to generate enlightened states of mind.

Iron is considered the most powerful medium with which to convey tantric observance in Tibetan ritual.