Tibetan Thangka Depicting Mahakala, Framed

Flames, fangs and a dark blue body. In Tibetan Buddhism, this is what protection looks like.

This framed thangka depicting Mahakala comes from Tibet, late 19th or early 20th century, in pigment on silk and canvas with a mahogany frame. Thangkas are Buddhist paintings used for meditation and teaching, and Mahakala is one of the great wrathful protectors, fearsome to obstacles rather than to the devout. He stands at the center, many-armed, inside a mass of orange flames. Seated teachers and clouds fill the sky, with three smaller wrathful figures below. Gold brocade with dragons surrounds it. Just over forty-four inches high.

An image meant to be faced, not merely hung.