A GOLD AND SILVER INLAID IRON DANDA


TIBET, 15TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61719 42.5 cm (16 3/4 in.) long
|西藏 十五世紀 鐵質銀間鍍金法杖Drawing metaphors from warfare, Vajrayana Buddhism equips its wrathful manifestations with weapons, such as the current mace which Yama Dhamaraja and others use to pulverize into annihilation karmic defilements that precipitate the cycle of rebirth. Such weapons are thus incorporated into rituals to achieve the same result for the practitioner. This ceremonial mace is inlaid with silver and gold spirals as was produced in the Early Ming dynasty, evinced by a staff (khatvanga) in the British Museum dated by inscription to the Yongle reign (Zwalf, Buddhism: Art and Faith, London, 1985, p.210, no.307). See a sword and knife with similar vajra-handles in Rossi & Rossi, Images of Faith, London, 2008, nos.14 & 18. Also compare with an example sold at Christie's, Amsterdam, 13 April 1999, lot 5.Provenance Lama Yonsten, London, 2015