A SILVER INLAID BRASS AND IRON BON PURBHA


TIBET, CIRCA 12TH CENTURY Himalayan Art Resources item no.61956 11 1/4 in. (28.5 cm) long
|西藏 約十二世紀 銅錯銀鐵尖苯教普巴杵 The purbha's surface has been worn smooth and outlines softened, from centuries of ritual handling. The Bon deity Purbha Drugse Chempa is depicted at the center, surmounted by a mythical bird and another three-faced godhead at the apex. Different from Buddhist examples where a vajra-grip is often inserted between the deity and the tripartite blade, here Purbha Drugse Chempa directly connects with the blade through a knot of immutability. Compare a closely related Bon purbha sold at Bonhams, New York, 19 March 2018, lot 3005. Provenance Private European Collection, acquired in the 1970s/80s Sotheby's, New York, 20 March 2013, lot 222