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Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Hover to magnify, click for fullscreen
Original fileSchwarzgrund-Thangka einer Schutzgottheit 18Jh
The central figure is a corpulent, four-armed deity with blue skin, a fierce facial expression, and a third eye, positioned amidst swirling red and gold flames. They hold a flaming sword in their left hand and a trident-staff in their right, while their secondary hands perform ritual gestures. The background is a dark, atmospheric field dotted with stylized clouds and smaller figures: two high lamas in the upper corners, a central lineage figure above the deity, and subordinate deities and mounted figures in the lower register. The overall color palette is dominated by deep indigo and black, contrasted by vibrant orange, red, and gold details.
This thangka belongs to the Tibetan Buddhist tradition of 'black-ground' (nakthang) painting, typically used for depicting wrathful deities (dharmapalas) involved in the destruction of obstacles to enlightenment. The composition adheres to strict iconographic grids derived from tantric texts.
Vajrayana Buddhist Tantras
The iconography follows the ritual prescriptions for protector deities found in Tibetan tantric manuals.
Object
painting
silk
18th century
Tibetan
religious
Digital Source
Wikimedia Commons · Public domain
2169 × 3000 px
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 20, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.