PLAQUE DE NAGADAKINI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ, MOULÉ ET REPOUSSÉ TIBET, XVIIIE SIÈCLEPLAQUE DE NAGADAKINI EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ, MOULÉ ET REPOUSSÉTIBET, XVIIIE SIÈCLEHimalayan Art Resources item no. 4839 27.5 cm (10 7/8 in.) highA CAST AND REPOUSSE GILT COPPER ALLOY PLAQUE OF A NAGADAKINITIBET, 18TH CENTURY 西藏 十八世紀 銅鎏金及錘揲龍女像Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1970s In a Buddhist context, serpent deities (nagas) act as protectors of the material realm, and are often shown venerating or offering gifts of devotion to a buddha or bodhisattva. The use of repoussé for the bottom half of her snake body, in addition to the metal tang behind her back and her single outstretched arm, suggest that this nagadakini would have been placed on the upper portion of a large prabhamandala, a throne-back placed behind a statue of remarkable size. For examples of nagas in repoussé, see a fragment in the Art Institute of Chicago (1980.273a-c) and a prabhamandala with nagas in the Philadelphia Museum of Art (1927-18-17b).