A bronze ritual dagger 'phurbu'

Description:

Tibet, ca. 19th cent.
L. 27,5 cm
The dagger cast with a central grip consisting of a pair of petal bands, flanked to each side by a flattened circular ornament, surmounted to one side by a three-faced demon head, all three faces displaying a ferocious expression with bulging eyes below bushy eyebrows, his flaming hairdo secured with tiaras decorated with skulls, the lower section of the dagger showing a makara-head issuing the three-sided blade and a pair of snakes.
From an old East German private collection, collected before 1980 - Very slightly chipped, minor traces of age