Antique 19th Century Hand Carved Hindu and Buddhist Temple Deity Kirtimukha With Custom Stand

Description

Antique 19th Century Hand Carved Hindu and Buddhist Temple Deity Kirtimukha With Custom metal Stand. It stands 22" tall on … more Antique 19th Century Hand Carved Hindu and Buddhist Temple Deity Kirtimukha With Custom metal Stand. It stands 22" tall on the stand. It does still have the Polychrome color in areas on the face, but mostly faded because of weathering. Please see all pictures, estate sale find, Feel Free to message us with any questions.


Kirtimukha "glorious face" is the name of a swallowing fierce monster face with huge fangs, and gaping mouth, very common in the iconography of Hindu temple architecture in Nepal, India and Southeast Asia, and often also found in Buddhist architecture.
The Kirtimukha is often used as a motif surmounting the pinnacle of a temple or the image of a deity, especially in South Indian architecture. As Zimmer writes, "Kirtimukha serves primarily as an apotropaic demon-mask, a gruesome, awe-inspiring guardian of the threshold. less