A silver ritual vessel with Chitipati
PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE CALIFORNIA COLLECTION 
A rare silver ritual vessel with Chitipati

TIBET, CIRCA 18TH CENTURY

Details
A rare silver ritual vessel with Chitipati
Tibet, circa 18th Century
The vase richly decorated with everted foot bordered by a beaded rim and in the shape of an open lotus, the body of the vase rendered as a sea of flames with the upper portion decorated with garlands, the cardinal directions with dancing skeletons alternating with flaming skull cups bearing offerings and interspersed with carrion birds, ritual objects, a measuring unit, a coral branch, a pair of elephant tusks, a three-eyed jewel, a unicorn horn, a pair of king's earrings and a pair of queen's earrings, surmounted by a garland of grinning skulls and four serpents, the neck with kirttimukha masks interspersed with beaded swags, with further tiers including a billowing ocean with aquatic creatures and a man rowing a boat filled with jewels, the top of the neck constructed with two reversed and one open lotus joined with a plain band
14 in. (35.7 cm.) high
Provenance
Spink and Son, Ltd., London, 1998
Private Collection, Europe
Christie's New York, 25 March 2004, lot 82
Literature
"Body, Speech, and Mind", Spink & Son, Ltd., London, December 1998
"Monasterios y lamas del Tibet", Fundacion "La Caixa," Madrid, November 2000-January 2001
Exhibited
"Body, Speech, and Mind", Spink & Son, Ltd., London, December 1998
"Monasterios y lamas del Tibet", Fundacion "La Caixa," Madrid, November 2000-January 2001

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Lot Essay

Chitipati represent two Buddhist ascetics who were so deeply absorbed in meditation that they were unaware of their own death, and changed into wrathful death spirits with vows of eternal vengeance. Primarily Chitipati is employed as a wealth practice, with emphasis as protection from thieves.

It has been suggested that this vessel could have been used for sprinkling consecrated water, or as part of a ritual in which the devotee fills the vessel with water and grains and visualizes a mandala on the surface. While normally Tibetan ritual vessels are simple in design, this work abounds with elaborate detail and is of exquisite craftsmanship.

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