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Lot 139

VARJA EN ACIER INCRUSTÉ D'OR ET DE CUIVRE
TIBET, XIIE/XIIIE SIÈCLE

15 December 2022, 14:00 CET
Paris, Avenue Hoche

Sold for €22,950 inc. premium

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VARJA EN ACIER INCRUSTÉ D'OR ET DE CUIVRE

TIBET, XIIE/XIIIE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205087
19.5 cm (7 5/8 in.) high

Footnotes

A GOLD AND COPPER INLAID STEEL VAJRA
TIBET, 12TH/13TH CENTURY

西藏 十二/十三世紀 鋼錯金錯紅銅金剛杵

The vajra, or dorje, is the quintessential symbol of tantrism, signifying the 'diamond vehicle' or Vajrayana Buddhist path. The Sanskrit term means, 'the hard or mighty one,' while its name in Tibetan translates to, 'the lord of stones,' both of which underscore the indestructible, immovable, immutable qualities of the enlightened mind.

This double pronged item – a mirror of each of its sides – is an early form of the implement represented with gold and copper inlay. Another 12th century example, which sold at Sotheby's, New York, 17 March 2015, lot 1041, shares many of its decorative features with the following work. Also compare with another in Henss, Buddhist Ritual Art of Tibet, Stuttgart, 2020, p. 40, no 27.

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

Additional information

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