THANGKA REPRÉSENTANT SIMHAMUKHA MONGOLIE, XVIIIE SIÈCLEProvenance: A THANGKA OF SIMHAMUKHAMONGOLIA, 18TH CENTURY蒙古 十八世紀 獅面空行母唐卡Surrounded within a verdant, mountainous landscape replete with an assembly of animal-headed deities is Simhamukha, the Mother of all conquerors and Queen of all dakinis who wields the power to pulverize obstacles and enemies into dust. Depicted with a crimson body and the features of a lioness, she dances with wild abandon inside a blazing inferno while gazing intensely back at the viewer with her three piercing eyes. The presence of Padmasambhava floating in a sea of clouds associates this painting with the Revealed Treasure tradition of the Nyingma (Terma), whose practitioners regard Simhamukha to be Padmasambhava's secret form.Forparisons, see Flaming and Shastri, eds.,Mongolian Buddhist Art: Masterpieces from the Museums of Mongolia, Vol. I, 2011, pp. 686-7; 690-1, figs. 302 & 304.