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Lot 132

EPÉE RITUELLE EN ACIER DAMASQUINÉ OR ET ARGENT
TIBET, XVE/XVIE SIÈCLE

The Triay Collection of Himalayan Art

15 December 2022, 14:00 CET

Paris, Avenue Hoche

Sold for €6,375 inc. premium

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EPÉE RITUELLE EN ACIER DAMASQUINÉ OR ET ARGENT

TIBET, XVE/XVIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205022
64 cm (25 1/4 in.) high

Footnotes

A GOLD AND SILVER DAMASCENED STEEL RITUAL SWORD
TIBET, 15TH/16TH CENTURY

西藏十五/十六世紀鋼鋄金銀法劍

The flaming sword is a destructive and protective weapon symbolizing wisdom's transformative power to cut through ignorance. As a means of representing and attaining transcendence, this magical weapon at once deconstructs attachments to self, thereby transmuting conflict into wisdom. Like many tantric implements, its origins lay in Vedic mythologies, though once adopted into Vajrayana practice, it became largely associated with the discerning mind and wisdom practices of the bodhisattva Manjushri.

The Tibetan artist's masterful iron smithing is on full display through the nuanced treatment of this sword, as the alternating application of gold and silver draws the viewer's attention towards the vajra finial located at the handle and the fiery edges of the hilt. Compare its dense, flaming design with the damascened gold of a ritual spear, illustrated in Henss, Buddhist Ritual Art of Tibet, Stuttgart, 2020, fig. 273.

Published:
Ramon Prats, et.al., Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Madrid, Fundación "La Caixa", 2000, p. 101, no. 16.

Exhibited:
Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Fundación "La Caixa", Madrid, November 2000-January 2001.

Provenance:
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1990s

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