Ritual Axe (c. 1407–1410): Art, History and Details

Ritual Axe (c. 1407–1410) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

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 this ritual axe was 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.

Object facts

• Title: Ritual Axe
• Date: c. 1407–1410
• Culture: Sino-Tibetan, Derge School, Yongle period (1403-1427)
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: iron alloy with gold and silver inlay
• Dimensions: Overall: 40.4 cm (15 7/8 in.)
• Collection: Tibetan Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1978.9.1

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

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

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.