Ritual knife thumbnail 1
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Ritual knife

Grigug
18th century (made)
Place of origin
Tibet (made)

Ritual knife (grigug)

Object details

Object type
Grigug
TitleRitual knife
Materials and techniques
brass and iron
Brief description
sacrificial, grigug; Ritual, steel brass, cast chased, Tibet, C18
Physical description
Ritual knife (grigug)
Dimensions
  • Height: 16cm
  • Width: 12cm
Gallery label
(14/06/2011)
Ritual Chopper (Drigug)
1700–1800
In Tibetan Buddhism, this type of chopper is held by certain
wrathful deities who aid the devotee in overcoming
spiritual obstacles. It symbolises the sharp edge of
enlightened wisdom, with its ability to destroy or chop up
negative forces or tendencies, often personified as demons.
Brass and iron
Tibet
Museum no. 521-1905
Credit line
Bought (Source not recorded)
Object history
Bought (Source not recorded). This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project.
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
521-1905

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O471035/ritual-knife-grigug/
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