The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 15, 2025
Ritual Weapons
early 1400s
Location: 237 Himalayan
Description
Ceremonial weaponry was used in tantric rituals to combat obstacles to enlightenment, such as ignorance, delusions, and selfishness. In 1407 a high-ranking Tibetan monastic patriarch visited the emperor of the Ming dynasty, known as Yongle. The Yongle emperor presented him with a number of gifts, of which these implements were probably a component, since the axe bears his identifying inscription in a cartouche. Imperial Chinese workmanship is noted in the lush rendering of the lion heads from which the blades emerge, the calligraphic serpentine forms, and the cloud motifs.- Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1978.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 66, no. 1 (January 1979): 3–47. Reproduced: p. 37; Mentioned: p. 47, no. 158 www.jstor.orgHuntington, John C., Dina Bangdel, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003. Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 366–369, no. 108
- Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).
- {{cite web|title=Ritual Weapons|url=false|author=|year=early 1400s|access-date=15 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.9