This is the seated image of one of the most important Mahayana and Vajrayana deities in Buddhism, Syamatara. She is represented in the lalitasana (relaxed posture), holding a lotus stalk in her left hand and a varada hasta (boon-bestowing gesture) in her right. She is resting her right foot on a smaller lotus flower like a footrest. Her throne has a high back-rest with fluttering sashes attached to its sides. The halo has creepers around it. Tara refers to ‘one who saves’. She is the mother of all the Buddhas and also the feminine concept of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.
