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Source Description
In Tantric Buddhist traditions, the curved knife is both a common attribute for wrathful deities and a ritual object used symbolically to destroy negative forces. Its form is modeled after an Indian butcher’s knife, with a crescent-shaped blade designed for flaying an animal’s skin and a sharp hook to make the initial incision. As a tool of enlightenment, it severs and strips away the layers of false knowledge inherent to ordinary existence, revealing a greater truth. Its handle has the form of a "vajra," the multipronged scepter used in Tantric Buddhist rituals. The horned animal face depicted in the relief work of this blade enhances the knife’s power, warding off dangerous forces.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
11294
label
Curved Ritual Knife
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
2
Source metadata
id
11294
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Curved Ritual Knife
description
In Tantric Buddhist traditions, the curved knife is both a common attribute for wrathful deities and a ritual object used symbolically to destroy negative forces. Its form is modeled after an Indian butcher’s knife, with a crescent-shaped blade designed for flaying an animal’s skin and a sharp hook to make the initial incision. As a tool of enlightenment, it severs and strips away the layers of false knowledge inherent to ordinary existence, revealing a greater truth. Its handle has the form of a "vajra," the multipronged scepter used in Tantric Buddhist rituals. The horned animal face depicted in the relief work of this blade enhances the knife’s power, warding off dangerous forces.
provenance
Acquired by Rajumar Tuladhar; purchased by John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore February 9 1968; given to Walters Art Museum, 2016.
date
17th-18th century
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
knives
imageCount
2
pageCount
2
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
16.4
height
16.5
depth
4.3
dimensionsRaw
H: 6 7/16 × W: 6 1/2 × D: 1 11/16 in. (16.4 × 16.5 × 4.3 cm)
Source extras
med
gilded copper alloy and iron
creator_ids
6868
collection_ids
INT
exhibition_ids
3456
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
4dc4ceb715901015
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
dd828e4182f17b5d
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no