ÉPÉE DE BEGTSE CHEN EN ACIER DAMASQUINÉ OR AVEC POIGNÉE EN FORME DE SCORPION EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉ TIBET, XVIIIE SIÈCLEÉPÉE DE BEGTSE CHEN EN ACIER DAMASQUINÉ OR AVEC POIGNÉE EN FORME DE SCORPION EN ALLIAGE DE CUIVRE DORÉTIBET, XVIIIE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205023 66 cm (26 in.) highA GOLD DAMASCENED STEEL BEGTSE CHEN SWORD WITH A GILT COPPER ALLOY SCORPION HANDLE TIBET, 18TH CENTURY 西藏 十八世紀 銅鎏金天蠍柄鋼鋄金刃大紅司命主劍The handle is fashioned in the shape of a flattened scorpion that represents the destructive and deadly weapon of Mongolia's primary protective deity Beg tse Chen. It is most likely that this sword handle would have been held by a monk wearing the costume of the deity performing a ritual Cham dance as shown in a black and white photo of a performance in 1930s (Tsultem, Mongolian Sculpture, Ulaanbaatar, 1988). Published:Francois Pannier, La Danse Des Morts. Citipati De l'Himalaya, Danse Macabres et Vanites De l'Occident, Paris, 2004, p. 67, no. 34.Exhibited: La Danse Des Morts: Citipati De l'Himalaya, Danse Macabres et Vanites De l'Occident, Galerie le Toit du Monde, Paris, 15 September – 30 October 2004.Provenance:Eudale Daltabuit, Barcelona, 1990s