TIBET, XVIIÈME SIÈCLE

Iron tridents are often placed on the roofs of Tibetan temples as protective devices against adverse forces and lightning. See a very similar Tibetan spearhead sold in our New York rooms, 23 September 2004, lot 89, which was exhibited in London, Spink and Son, Ltd., Body, Speech and Mind, Buddhist Art from Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and China, cat. no. 38, December 1998, and Madrid, Fundación "La Caixa", Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, cat. no. 7, November 2000 - January 2001. Also compare to a similar Tibetan trident preserved in the Musée Guimet, Paris.