The Buddhist goddess Marichi appears in many forms. As the Goddess of the Dawn, one of her most common forms, depicts her in the chariot of the sun pulled by seven pigs, removing obstacles with her radiant light. This sculpture presents her as an attendant to the goddess Tara, holding a vajra in her right hand and a branch of the ashoka tree in her left.Her round face and fleshy “bee-stung” lips, the patterned etching on her garments, the warm patina of the gilding, the finesse of the ornaments, such as her distinctive lotus-jewel crown and S-curve armlets, as well as the multileveled lotus base are all characteristic of Mongolian sculpture attributed to the exceptional Mongolian artist Zanabazar (1635–1723) and his workshop. Zanabazar was Mongolia’s first incarnate lama and leader of Mongolian Buddhism, who founded a sculptural style that continues to have a profound influence to this day.This figure was most likely placed to the right of a sculpture of Tara, which would have stood at the head of a set of twenty-one sculptures representing her various forms. This Marichi might have once been part of an existing set in the collection of the Bogdo Khan Palace Museum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Artwork Details

Title
Goddess of the Dawn, Marichi
Artist
Zanabazar
Dimensions
15 5/8 × 10 3/8 × 7 1/4 in.
Medium
Gilt copper alloy
Origin
Mongolia
Classification(s)
sculpture
Date
late 17th century or early 18th century
Credit Line
Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
Object number
C2005.16.26
Bibliography
HAR Number
65449
Published references
  • David P. Jackson, The Place of Provenance: Regional Styles in Tibetan Painting (Rubin Museum of Art, 2012), 169-170, fig. 8.13.
  • Jane Casey, Naman Pareshwar Ahuja, and David Weldon, "Divine Presence: Arts of India and the Himalayas" [catalogue of the exhibition held at Casa Asia, Barcelona, 2003], 168-69, no. 58: Marichi. Mongolia; c. late 17th to early 18th centuries.
  • J. Van Alphen, Collection Highlights: Rubin Museum of Art (Rubin Museum of Art, 2014), 164-165, 175.
  • Elvira Eevr Djaltchinova-Malets, & Wojciech Eichelberger, Uranchimeg Tsultem, Isabelle Chrarleux, Tadeusz Skorupski, Barbara Banasik. Medytacje: sztuka Dzanabadzara i jego szkoły. Warszawa : Państwowe Muzeum Etnograficzne w Warszawie, 2010. pp. 26-33. English Title: Meditation: The Art of Zanabar and His School.
  • “Goddess Marichi,” Project Himalayan Art, Rubin Museum of Art, 2023, projecthimalayanart.rubinmuseum.org/related/goddess-marichi/.

Begin your search...

Power

Concepts

A kind of energy that can be used, individually and collectively, to effect change.

See more

Secular Goals

Concepts

While the primary religious goal for followers of Buddhism is enlightenment, many of the practices also serve secular goals related to daily life, including ethical conduct and cultivating well-being.

See more

Female Deities

Figure Type

Female bodhisattvas and tantric deities embody specific enlightened qualities such as wisdom, power, and protection, and can be peaceful or wrathful in appearance.

See more

Mongolian Regions

Region

Mongolians have been widely active in the Tibetan Buddhist world, playing a key role in Tibetan culture, politics, and relations with China. In the 13th century, the Mongol Empire—the largest contiguous empire in world history—facilitated the spread of Tibetan visual culture.

See more

Sign up for our emails

Get the latest news and stories from the Rubin, plus occasional information on how to support our work.

Discover artworks, articles, and more by typing a search term above, selecting a term below, or exploring common concepts in Himalayan art.