Tibet, 18th Century, Large Kartika Handle In Bronze

Tibet 18th century
Bronze
25.7 x 8.8 cm including stand
Old traces of gilding
Private collection
Under the expertise of the Cabinet Portier in Paris

Old Kartika handle (ceremonial cleaver) in finely chiseled bronze. The handle engraved on both sides, the guard presenting a kirtimukha head evolving in a register of clouds, the terrifying face with wide-open eyes staring straight ahead and surmounted by bushy eyebrows, dilated nostrils in a broad muzzle, open mouth and apparent fangs between his hands, the solar and lunar symbols placed above him. The handle has a decoration of trilobed foliage surmounted by a half-sphere adorned with lotus petals and a border of gadroons, the upper part ending in a half vajra. The reverse is similar, the guard being differentiated by a tangle of clouds.

The Kartika in Tantric Buddhism is a ceremonial cleaver used to flay bodies. It is also the attribute of wrathful Dakinis, symbolizing the smashing of all negative and materialistic actions with the Blade of Wisdom.