Hevajra Tantra Gilt Bronze Tibetan Sculpture. Dancing with Consort Nairatmya. In this superbly cast gilt bronze sculpture, depicting the wrathful emanation of the Buddha Akshobhya, the Yidam Guardian Deity Hevajra stands in an ecstatic embrace of Nairatmya. Hevajra’s orange hair is raging like flames. On top of which a well-wrought viswavajra. His eight heads are gazing in all directions. Each face has three eyes and four bared fangs. His sixteen hands hold skull cups bearing animals and Lamas in Anjili mudra representing earthy elements. The first pair of arms folded at heart embraces the consort. She was cast separately, then in a technical fest locked in with Hevajra. Each figure has fearsome expressions meticulously and wondrously rendered with exceptional skill. They are crowned with skulls and ornamented with garlands of freshly severed heads. Both deities are embellished with necklaces, bracelets, and anklets. In her left hand, she carries a skull cup, and in her right a Kartika. Embracing the father with her right leg, she dances in the air balancing on one foot. Hevajra is standing on two legs, with two more legs drawn up in a dancing stance. The couple mirrored in a display of terrible invincibility atop four transient spirits. This spectacular and ferocious work reveals the tantric secret of sexual union in meditation and devotional practice. The highest form of yoga that of Vajrayana Buddhism to communicate the merging of compassion (male) and wisdom (female). It functions as a creative visualization for the development of emptiness and pristine awareness of one's Buddha-nature. In addition to the remnant of saffron oil residue, the base of the statue is sealed and engraved with a double vajra. This symbol indicates when the sculpture was completed, a ceremony was held to call the deity into it; blessings were bestowed and prayers inserted into the piece. In this work, the quality of artistry is superlative, yet beyond its excellence, as an instrument for realizing the highest yoga of the Diamond Vehicle, the Supreme Bliss. The statue was deemed appropriate only for advanced Vajrayana practitioners. A cleaned version of this piece (nearly identical) with high resolution photos can be found at :https://www.buddhamuseum.com/havajra-tantra-yabyum_1576.html As Is: Female loose. Size: 9 1/2 x 7 x 15 in. #1061