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    Melikian Collection > Collections > Artworks > Collector's Favorites > Two Polychromed Wood Purbhas


MATERIAL: Wood
TYPE: Dagger
DIMENSIONS: 41 cm (16 1/8 in.) high, the larger;  38 cm (15 in.) high, the smaller
NOTES: Provenance: Spink & Son Ltd, London, 1999

Published: Spink & Son Ltd., Visions of Perfect Worlds: Buddhist Art from the Himalayas, London, 1999, pp.81-2, nos. 47 and 48.

Ramon Prats, et.al., Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Madrid, Fundación "La Caixa", 2000, p.102-3, nos.18 and 22.

Michael Henss, Buddhist Ritual Art of Tibet: A Handbook on Ceremonial Objects and Ritual Furnishings in the Tibetan Temple, Stuttgart, 2020, p. 165, no. 179.

Exhibited: Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Fundación "La Caixa", Madrid, November 2000-January 2001.
ITEM ID: 5436
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Two Polychromed Wood Purbhas

DATE
Notes: 18th/19th Century

As indicated by their material, these wooden ritual daggers were never used in battle. Nevertheless, they had the same power to pin down and annihilate evil forces, thereby ensuring the boundaries of a sacred space to be formed. Although differing in form, both handle types are symbolic of a practitioner’s transcendent wisdom, while the triple-sided blade represent their command over the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness.

The following works depict the wrathful visages of Vajrakila, who are represented onto both purbhas with bared fangs and piercing eyes.

Compare with two other wooden purbhas, one of Vajrakila holding a smaller dagger in his hands (HAR 58713) and another depicting only his head (HAR 58711).