Collection Online as of June 9, 2023

Ritual Mace

early 1400s

Part of a set. See all set records

Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period

(1403-1427)

Iron alloy with gold inlay

Overall: 38.5 cm (15 3/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1978.9.2

Location

not on view

Description

Ceremonial weaponry was used in tantric rituals to combat obstacles to enlightenment, such as ignorance and uncontrolled passions. 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 the axe, mace, flaying knife, incense burner (1983.154), and the gilt bronze Virupa (1972.96) appear to have been a part, since the sculpture and the axe bear 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.

Citations

Huntington, John C., Dina Bangdel, and Robert A. F. Thurman. The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Chicago: Serindia Publications, 2003. 366-369

Exhibition history

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (10/5/2003 - 1/11/2004) and Columbus Museum of Art (2/8/2004 - 5/9/2004): "The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditaional Art," exh. cat. no. 108, p. 366-367.
Metropolitan Museum of Art (4/1/2005-7/10/2005): "Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Fifteenth-Century China"

The Cleveland Museum of Art (05/05/2013 - 09/15/2013); "Focus:Tantra in Buddhist Art"

The Circle of Bliss: Buddhist Meditational Art. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (October 5, 2003-January 11, 2004); Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, OH (February 8-May 9, 2004).

Defining Yongle: Imperial Art in Early Fifteenth-Century China. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (April 1-July 10, 2005).

Focus: Tantra in Buddhist Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (May 5-September 15, 2013).