Vajra Flaying Knife

Eastern Tibet, Derge

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 253

This flaying knife is styled in the Indian manner, with a long, hooked steel blade for butchering and flaying. A vajra (thunderbolt scepter), symbol par excellence of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, forms the handle. The steel blade issues from a wide-jawed sea monster (makara) hilt, finely damascened with gold and silver.

Vajra Flaying Knife, Steel inlaid with gold and silver, Eastern Tibet, Derge

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Vajra Flaying Knife, Steel inlaid with gold and silver, Eastern Tibet, Derge
Vajra Flaying Knife, Steel inlaid with gold and silver, Eastern Tibet, Derge

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