A BRASS ALLOY AND IRON VAJRAKILA PURBHA


TIBET, CIRCA 12TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61957 14 1/4 in. (36.1 cm) long
|西藏 約十二世紀 銅質鐵尖普巴金剛橛 Many purbhas, like the present lot, personify the mediational deity Vajrakila. Unlike many Vajrakila purbhas, where only the deity's three faces are shown, here his purbha-wielding arms are also depicted at the apex of this ritual implement. The miniature purbhas he grips have been so carefully rendered by the artist that their minute tripartite blades are also clearly visible. Compare a similar purbha in the Nyingjei Lam Collection (HAR 68328). Provenance Private European Collection, acquired in the 1970s/1980s Sotheby's, New York, 20 March 2013, lot 223