
Jing Wen
Cataloguer
This auction has ended. View lot details


€20,000 - €30,000
Our Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialist
Cataloguer

Global Head of Chinese Ceramics and Works of Art

International Director

International Specialist

Head of Sale, Specialist
A LARGE BRASS AND IRON RETICULATED PURBHA
TIBET, 13TH CENTURY
西藏 十三世紀 銅鏤空柄天鐵刃普巴杵
According to myth, the cult of the phurba and Vajrakila were introduced into Tibet by Padmasambhava, the legendary teacher and founder of the Nyingma school, during the 8th century to subdue hostile forces. Extraordinary tales of magic are associated with these triple-sided stakes as a means of severing harmful emotions such as hatred and aggression by transmuting them at the blade tip. As the pommel is also employed in ritual blessings, the phurba is regarded as a spiritual implement rather than a physical weapon.
The present work, comprising a single tier of three-faces and an openwork vajra grip flanked by threaded knots on either side, shares its configuration and material with another purbha in the Tibet Museum – Fondation Alain Bordier in Gruyères, Switzerland (von Schroeder, Art sacre du Tibet, 2013, p. 222, no. 117).
Published:
Ramon Prats, et.al., Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Madrid, Fundación "La Caixa", 2000, p. 103, no. 23.
Exhibited:
Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Fundación "La Caixa", Madrid, November 2000-January 2001.
Provenance:
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1990s