A THANGKA DEPICTING THE MANDALA OF VAJRAVARAHITibet, c. late 18th to mid-19th century. Distemper and gold on cloth. The central deity dancing atop a prostrate figure, holding a kapala and kartrika in her primary hands, the two secondary hands holding a sword and khatvanga. She is wearing a diaphanous robe, garland of severed heads, and billowing scarves, and richly adorned with jewelry. Note the remarkably fine detail work.Provenance: From an old private collection in Zagreb, Croatia.Condition: Good condition with minor wear, creasing, soiling, and tiny losses.Dimensions: Size 72 x 57.5 cmThe central deity within a roundel encircled by foliate mandorlas, those at the cardinal points enclosing wrathful female deities, within an inverted triangle surrounded by foliate scroll interspersed by swastikas, enclosed by a band of lotus petals and scrolling vines. The mandala is set within a verdant landscape densely filled with numerous images of deities, the upper register with teachers, Buddhas, and bodhisattvas, centered by a blue Chakrasamvara with his consort Vajravarahi, the lower register with various wrathful and protector deities.Vajravarahi, or the ‘Diamond Sow’, is a wrathful form of Vajrayogini associated particularly with the Chakrasamvara Tantra, where she is paired in yab-yum with the Heruka Chakrasamvara.Literatureparison:Compare a related thangka, dated 1869, attributed to Nepal but clearly painted in the Tibetan tradition, from the Avery Brundage Collection and now in the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, object number B60D11+.金剛瑜伽佛母壇城唐卡西藏，約十八世紀末至十九世紀中期，布面金彩膠畫。壇城中央可見紅身金剛亥母舞蹈姿盛蓮立像，手持卡帕拉碗與執持金剛鉞刀，另外兩手分別持劍與骷髏杖，左腳伸立、右腳彎提如舞蹈姿，舞於蓮花日輪屍墊上，周圍環繞其四色身化相。佛母穿著一件透明的長袍，頭戴花環，圍著飄逸的圍巾，並佩戴著華麗的珠寶。唐卡細節繁複，繪畫精美。