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Buddhist Protector Magzor Gyalmo, the Queen Who Repels Armies
18th century
- Medium
- Silk tapestry (kesi) with black paint
- Classification
- Textile
- Dimensions
- 60 × 41 cm (23 5/8 × 16 1/8 in.)
- Culture
- Tibet
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Asia
- Credit line
- Otto Doering, Jr., Otto Doring III and Margaret Gentle Memorial Funds; Asian Art Aquisition Endowment
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Teens profiles and older: its subject is for older viewers (war, death, the Passion, drink or the like). How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Magzor Gyalmo, the Queen Who Repels Armies, is a Buddhist protector deity and one of the forms of Palden Lhamo (Shri Devi). She is also said to be a wrathful emanation of the goddess Sarasvati, and is associated with wisdom. Her most important role is as a primary protector of the Dalai Lamas and the Gelugpa Order. She appears here dark blue in color, with one head and two arms, and a face with three eyes. She wears a tiger skin and is adorned with a crown and garlands of skulls, signifying her wrathful nature. Surrounding Magzor Gyalmo are two animal-headed goddesses and four goddesses who are called the Four Queens of the Seasons.
This thangka is unusual in that it is actually a tapestry woven from silk rather than painted, although it is still considered a thangka. Called kesi in Chinese, it is produced by a method of tapestry weaving that uses both raw and processed silk to create patterns that follow a painted design. The technique was introduced from Central Asia to China during the Tang Dynasty, where it became popular initially for depicting floral patterns and birds. The Tanguts brought together this method with patterns based on Tibetan Buddhist images and painting…
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
