Chinese Sino-Tibetan Ming Dynasty Period gilt bronze Kartika, a symbolic crescent knife or 'chopper', used in Vajrayana Buddhist ceremonies. It symbolizes the severance of all material and worldly bonds and is crowned with a vajra, which is said to destroy ignorance, and leads to enlightenment. The Kartika is a key ritual implement in the Tibetan Buddhist practice of Chöd, or 'cutting through demons'. In Buddhist teachings, this tool is held in the right hand of Yamantaka, the conqueror of death. It is also used in FengShui.
Depictions of Vajrayogini typically contain the Kartika as one of her attributes. In the iconography of the dakini, she generally appears with the hooked Kartika knife in her right hand. Lama Tsultrim Allione describes the Kartika:
The traditional interpretation of the hook in Tibetan Buddhist imagery is that of the hook of compassion. It is the hook which pulls beings out of the cycles of transmigration. The hooked crescent-shaped knife of the dakini with its vajra handle pulls one forth from suffering, chops up the ego-centered self and is guided by the diamond clarity of the vajra.
Provenance: Charlotte, North Carolina private collector.

Dimension: 7" H x 6-3/4"W

Excellent condition, with normal anomalies in nature, sign of stressed surface, minor scratch & dent. Surface traced wear and or declined to gilding. Normal, considering ages and wears.

Please Note: EDEN Fine Antiques Galleries provides condition reports as a courtesy to our clients and assumes no liability for any error or omission. Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, and is only an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact. Descriptions are our opinions and should in no way be construed as a guarantee of any kind as to age, condition, mater. The bidder assumes responsibility for ensuring that the condition of the item(s) meets with their satisfaction prior to bidding. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition or completely free from wear and tear, imperfections or the effects of aging.