М-677 http://www.cidoc-crm.org/crm-core/E22_Man-Made_Object Man-Made Object Church utensils and cult metal plastics Statuette. Six-armed Mahakala. Харківський історичний музей імені М. Ф. Сумцова M. F. Sumtsov Kharkiv Historical Museum М-677 Mahakala's rank among the higher deities can be identified by his ornaments, which include a pearl chest necklace with a brooch; bracelets and a belt; and greatly elongated earlobes (a sign of nobility, one of the marks of a Great Being). There are holes in the earlobes, where earrings — now lost — were likely worn. The necklace, the bracelets at the elbows, shoulders, and wrists, the earrings, and the belt belong to the set of "six ornaments," which symbolize four of the "six perfections" (generosity, morality, patience, diligence). Together with the skirt and scarf, these ornaments make up the "thirteen ornaments of the bodhisattva." The skirt is secured at the waist with a belt resembling a traditional element of Chinese ritual costume — a fabric sash (dadalai) tied on the skirt in a knot (qun) with two loops (niu) and two hanging ends (shen). The deity has a fearsome appearance: powerful forms, a protruding belly. The beard and bristling hair are colored with red pigment, the mouth bares its teeth, the eyes bulge in anger, and the eyebrows take the form of flame-like tongues — characteristic features of a dharmapala (protector of the Law). On the forehead is a third eye, a symbol of omniscience. Based on the iconography, this can be identified as Six-Armed Mahakala, the Great Black Protector of the Dharma, a yidam of the Vajrayana — an enlightened being. The Black Lord's wrath is directed at everything that hinders the attainment of enlightenment. His six arms symbolize the six paramitas. The principal hands are joined, right palm over left (the positive prevailing over the negative). The upper hands form the gesture of the three truths, characteristic of merciful forms of deities. The lower hands form a gesture of attack, a mudra characteristic of wrathful forms. This combination of two opposing gestures continues in the symbolism of color, which expresses different aspects of activity of great significance. Yellow (the golden royal attire) belongs to a restrained mood, while red and black express fury. A hymn to the Six-Armed Protector, composed by the mahasiddha Shavaripa, became the basis for an iconography encompassing 75 forms of personification of the image of Mahakala, reflecting a great cycle of tantric literature. The composition of this work belongs to the samabhanga type, the pose of "standing on straight legs," characterized by strict frontality, mirror symmetry, balance, and a clearly expressed center and vertical axis. The static quality of the figure is broken by the head, sharply inclined to one side, with a wrathful expression. Note: Mahakala is especially popular in Tibet. After the Mongol conquest of China in the 13th century, Mahakala became the patron deity of the Chinese emperor. In the era of the Manchu-Mongol Qing dynasty, Mahakala embodied the Mongols' religious ally — the followers of Tibetan Buddhism — which in the artistic imagination endowed Buddhist images with new features of Sino-Tibetan art. This is reflected in the modeling and decoration of the attributed sculpture. The gilding that adorns the attire is a privileged material, capable of conveying the "miraculous radiance" of the image. 30.5 × 27 × 7 cm height cm 30.5 width cm 27 depth cm 7 Production Невідомо Unknown 18th century 1700 1800 metal casting chasing engraving buddhism М-677 item Слобожанський код. 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