Flaming sword

Tibet, 19th century

Iron, brass

L: 37 cm

O 1300

Gift of Vladimír Piskáček, 1999.

Flaming sword used for ritual dances, here with a makara head hilt and a lotus finial issuing a vajdra. The flat sword is an attribute of the bodhisattva of wisdom, Jampelyang (Tibetan) or Manjushri (Sanskrit), who wields it in his right hand to burn away the darkness of ignorance.