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Palden Lhamo

15th century
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Palden Lhamo is the chief protector of Tibet and its capital Lhasa. Here, she is shown with a midnight-blue complexion traversing a roiling sea of blood on a mule. Instruments of her power, attached at the mule’s neck, include white dice for divination and a bag of maladies fastened with a serpent harness, which she employs to implement divine will. As a saddle blanket, she uses the flayed skin of her own son whom she killed after realizing that he was following in the footsteps of her husband, a murderous king and opponent of Buddhism. The yellow-hatted lamas depicted at the top of the painting reflect her affiliation with the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism and its spiritual head, the Dalai Lama.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Palden Lhamo
  • Date: 15th century
  • Culture: Tibet
  • Medium: Mineral pigments on cotton
  • Dimensions: H. 40 in. (101.6 cm); W. 30 in. (78.7 cm)
    Framed dimensions: H. 48 1/2 in. (123.2 cm); W. 40 in. (101.6 cm); Est. weight 19 lbs. (8.6 kg)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Lent by the Michael J. and Beata McCormick Collection
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art