The Buddhist deity Rakta Ganapati (Ganesha)

In an unusually opulent image, a multiarmed dancing Ganesha is enriched with gilding, silver, and stones such as turquoise. The symbolism is similar to that of painted representations of the Maharakta Ganapati (the Great Red Ganesha, no. 44 nearby), but here the deity is surrounded by an aureole of flame, which is said to symbolize the “burning of all hindrances and ignorance.” Ganesha is the remover (or sometimes creator) of hindrances, so the destructive flame is appropriate.