A pair of gold and silver damascened iron ritual implements

TIBET, CIRCA 18TH CENTURY

Details

A pair of gold and silver damascened iron ritual implements
Tibet, circa 18th century
Both ornately damascened with a long handle and makara head terminating in a flaming vajra, the first with a square pouring implement, finely decorated with flames and vajras with a half-vajra spout, the second with a round ladle
28¼ in. (71.8 cm.), the longer (2)

Provenance

Private collection, Europe, acquired in Paris on 31 October 1988

Literature

N. Bazin, Rituels tibétains: Visions secrètes du Ve Dalaï Lama , 2002, p. 161 and ill., cat. no. 132

Exhibited

Rituels tibétains: Visions secrètes du Ve Dalaï Lama, Musé national des Arts asiatiques-Guimet, Paris, 5 November 2002-24 February 2003

Lot Essay

Used in Tibetan Buddhist fire ceremonies, the ladle symbolizes compassion and the pouring implement symbolizes wisdom; compare another set at the Jacques Marchais Museum, in B. Lipton, Treasures of Tibetan Art, 1996, p. 221f, cat. no. 116

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