2-739-305 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ritual Axe, c. 1407-1410. 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.