TIBET, 15TH CENTURY

This ritual object, known as a dorje in Tibetan, has its roots in the thunderbolt yielded by Indra in the Vedas. In the Tibetan Buddhist context, the ubiquitous symbol takes on the meaning of strength and immutability. The present thunderbolt-sceptre includes lotuses supporting a central column surrounded by eight arched prongs, emerging from makara-heads flanking a bulbous central grip. The style closely resembles those created during the Ming dynasty, particularly Yongle and Xuande period iterations; see a Yongle-marked example in the Beijing Palace Museum, illustrated in Cultural Relics of Tibetan Buddhism, Hong Kong, 1992, pl. 131-1.

Himalayan Art Resources (himalayanart.org), item no. 24481.