Penden Lhamo (Shri Devi)
Tibeto-Chinese, late 17th to early 18th century
Gilt bronze with pigment
Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts
Gift of N. L. Horch to the Riverside Museum Collection, 1971.267

Penden Lhamo is the only female deity represented among the Dharmapalas -- defenders of the Buddhist faith. She rides a mule across the Himalayan Mountains bathed in a sea of blood strewn with human heads and limbs. Lhamo is conceptually related to the Hindu goddess Kali or Durga who also destroy demons. She is the premiere protective deity of the nation of Tibet.

Holding a trident and scull cup filled with demon blood, Lhamo sits on the flayed skin of her own son, whom she murdered after her husband, the King of Sri Lanka, refused to renounce human sacrifice. Representing the destructive forces of the Great Mother who clears the way for spiritual regeneration, she stands in sharp contrast to the peaceful Tara. Conceptually, these fierce and peaceful deities represent the unity and totality of life, signaling the end to dualities that divide the phenomenal world.

This work of art is believed to be one of the finest sculptural representations of Lhamo. Although small in scale, the sculpture is alive with movement and psychic energy designed to jolt the viewer into confronting the dark forces latent within the human mind. Probably made in China, this sculpture demonstrates the international influence of Tibetan art and iconography in the seventeenth century.