ritual thunderbolt; dorje

Bronze dorje, ritual thunderbolt, in the form of a sceptre. In the middle of the handle a spherical central section swells out of the bar. At each end of the bar emerge two incised eight-petalled lotus flowers which end in a solid flat top. The lotuses are topped by five prongs, one rising from the centre and four from the round rim, all meeting at a central point above the lotus, forming a slightly bulging half-sphere, and the central one rising above the meeting point. From the outward prongs emerge makaras, mythical sea creatures, whose tongues meet at the high central point. H 30 x W 125 x D 35.

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