Terracotta Fragment of a Heavenly King

Description

This arm and shoulder area is part of the plastic representation of a warrior in heavy armour. It probably depicts a protector or ‘heavenly king’ of Buddhism, a Lokapala or Mongolian Maharanza. On the shoulder of the fragment, lamellar armour is shown in fine detail. Above the shoulder, the folds of a cloak, a typical attribute of Lokapala, billow. These ‘kings of heaven’ are usually depicted in groups of four, with each of them assigned a cardinal direction. They are still frequently depicted in the entrance areas of temples to this day. Based on the drooping position of the arm, this figure could be Vaishravana, or Namsrai in Mongolian, the guardian of the north.

3D Visualisation

3D Model: C. Mackenzie / DAI

Images: H. Rohland / DAI

Literature

Hüttel, H.-G. (2005) ‘Armfragment eines Lokapala’, in Dschingis Khan und seine Erben: Das Weltreich der Mongolen. München: Hirmer, pp. 164–165.