Ritual Weapons
Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period (1403-1427) · early 1400s · Cleveland Museum of Art
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Ceremonial weaponry was used in tantric rituals to combat obstacles to enlightenment, such as ignorance, delusions, and selfishness. In 1407 a high-ranking Tibetan monastic patriarch visited the emperor of the Ming dynasty, known as Yongle. The Yongle emperor presented him with a number of gifts, of which these implements were probably a component, since the axe bears his identifying inscription in a cartouche. Imperial Chinese workmanship is noted in the lush rendering of the lion heads from which the blades emerge, the calligraphic serpentine forms, and the cloud motifs.
The museum’s own description, in English. Licence: CC0
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Details
- Maker
- Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period (1403-1427)
- Date
- early 1400s
- Medium
- iron alloy with gold and silver inlay
- Dimensions
- Overall: 40.4 cm (15 7/8 in.)
- Place of origin
- Sino-Tibetan
- Held by
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland · On view · 237 Himalayan
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
Image: Cleveland Museum of Art, CC0