Thighbone Trumpet (c. 1800): Art, History and Details

Thighbone Trumpet (c. 1800) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Blown during tantric Buddhist rituals, this ritual instrument is made of bone to remind practitioners of the impermanence of the corporeal body. The horn is sounded to clear away obstacles to enlightenment, conceived as enemies in battle.

Object facts

• Title: Thighbone Trumpet
• Date: c. 1800
• Culture: Tibet
• Type: Musical Instrument
• Technique: bone, leather, and copper alloy
• Dimensions: Overall: 7 cm (2 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Tibetan Art
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1918.389

A detail from the museum

Tantric ritual trumpets are traditionally made from human femurs, but now they can be made from plastic, metal, or other materials.

Collection credit

The Charles G. King Jr. collection; Gift of Ralph King in memory of Charles G. King Jr.

Further reading listed by the museum

• "Accessions." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 5, no. 8/9 (1918): 82-85.
• D. S. M. "Exhibition of Musical Instruments." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 8, no. 9 (1921): 134-43.

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.