19th-20th century AD. A gilt bronze figure of the wrathful deity Palden Lhamo, sitting sideways on a galloping bridled mule; horse with blanket formed from a human body, with protruding head, arms and legs; the goddess' right hand raised holding a sceptre, her left hand holding a skull cup, two similar bowls to the base; wearing a flowing robe and a headdress formed of five skulls; flowing painted red hair and a wrathful face with three eyes, thick red eyebrows and a fierce, teeth-bearing expression; standing on an integral base formed with stylised lotus border. 825 grams, 14cm (5 1/2"). From an important London collection, acquired in the 1990s. According to Tibetan myth, Palden Lhamo was the wife of the tyrant king. To prevent her son from continuing the bloodthirsty dynasty, Palden Lhamo murdered him, skinned his body, drank his blood from his skull and ate his flesh. She then rode away on a horse saddled with her son's flayed skin. Of the eight Dharma protectors, she is the only female goddess and is depicted with red hair to indicate her wrathful nature and a garland of skulls.