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Collections

Unknown
Ritual Dagger (Phurpa)15th century

Not on view
Long ceremonial staff or wand in dark iron with gold-toned metal fittings, featuring a leaf-shaped tip at one end and an elaborate zoomorphic and vajra-form finial at the other
Cast metal finial or handle fitting featuring a frontal deity face with an ornate crown, flanked by scrolling ear ornaments; dark iron or bronze with worn gilt surface revealing aged patination.
Close-up of a cast metal finial or fitting, dark with gilded highlights, depicting a wrathful deity face with wide eyes, bared teeth, and an elaborate crown with flame-like and skull motifs, mounted on a cylindrical shaft.
Cast metal ritual object, close-up of a wrathful deity face with bulging eyes, bared teeth, and a third eye mark on the forehead, flanked by scrolling flame-like projections and crowned with a small figure; dark patina with worn gilt highlights.
Close-up of a cast bronze object with dark patina and gilt highlights, featuring a relief-carved zoomorphic head with open jaws, horns, and curling details atop a fluted column form.
Artist or Maker
Unknown
Title
Ritual Dagger (Phurpa)
Place Made
Western or Central Tibet
Date Made
15th century
Medium
Iron and brass
Dimensions
27 x 2 x 2 in. (68.58 x 5.08 x 5.08 cm)
Credit Line
Christian Humann Asian Art Fund
Accession Number
M.86.190.2
Classification
Arms and Armor
Collecting Area
South and Southeast Asian Art
Selected Bibliography
  • Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.
  • Little, Stephen, Tushara Bindu Gude, Karina Romero Blanco, Silvia Seligson, Marco Antonio Karam. Las Huellas de Buda. Ciudad de México : Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia, 2018.
  • Little, Stephen, and Tushara Bindu Gude. Realms of the Dharma: Buddhist Art across Asia. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2025.