Heavenly King

CHINA, Tibet

Cast in the image of a warrior, with the details achieved by hammering, the Heavenly King wears a high ribboned crown and armor embedded with semi-precious stones. Deep cuffs fly back from the forearms, where the left hand holds a flaming jewel and the right hand a sword, though the blade is now missing. The armor’s surface is incised with geometric patterns. The edges of the tunic flare out dynamically from beneath the armor. The figure, with its glaring eyes and set mouth, is probably that of Virudhaka, Heavenly King of the South. The Densatil Monastery in Tibet once housed statues of similar design, leading to speculation that this statue may be of Tibetan origin.