The wrathful female deity Śrī Devī sits on a yellow mule riding across a sea of blood, amidst red flames and dark billowing smoke, surrounded by her retinue. Dark blue in colour, she wears a crown of five silver skulls and a necklace inlaid with coral and turquoise; above her head is the characteristic peacock feather umbrella. At the top left of the appliquй is Atiśa and on the right Narayana (T. Sred med kyi bu). On either side of Śrī Devī are the goddesses of the four seasons; to the right are those of spring and summer, with an attendant Makaravaktra, and to the left are autumn and winter with an attendant Simhamuki. Below are three deities: Śrī Devī in her manifestation as Mahālakṣmī, a wrathful red deity holding a club and Sarasvatī. Śrī Devī has always been venerated by the Mongolians as a promoter of virtue. Because of this role, an invocation ceremony of Śrī Devī takes place in Mongolian monasteries on New Year’s Eve in order to herald in an auspicious new year. This is a particularly fine 17th-century appliquй, inlaid with precious metals and jewels. It is far more elaborate in design than those produced at a later date. The ornaments of the deities are made with strings of tiny seed pearls called ‘worm pearls’ (M. khorkhoi suvd).
