Shadbhuja Mahakala. Tibet / China. Old thanka painting on canvas, 26.5 x 18 cm. Mounted in an old brocade frame, 62.5 x 37 cm. Private collection from Essen; purchased in the 1970s in Asia. Mahakala's six hands holding a mala, a damaru, a kartika, a kapala, a trisula and a lasso. Standing in powerful sidestep on a Vedic elephant-headed deity and a lotus pedestal. Wrathful expression and flaming hair. Wearing a skull crown on his head and a shull chain around his neck as well as a tiger skin around his hips. Above depiction of a Mahasiddha. Backside with Tibetan syllables. Slight signs of age.