Kartika Knife - Sino Tibetan - XXth c

Sino Tibetan Kartika Knife XXth Century

A brass kartika hand-held ritual flaying knife, composed of a crescentic blade with one hooked end and citipati head; handle comprising a makara and half-vajra; leather thong attached. 

Object literature: A kartika or drigug is a small, crescent-shaped, hand-held ritual flaying knife used in the tantric ceremonies of Vajrayana Buddhism. The kartari is normally held in the right hand of a dakini in Vajrayana iconography and spiritual practice. It is also found frequently in the iconography of the Tibetan Buddhism spiritual practice of Chod. The kartika is used to symbolize the severance of all material and worldly bonds The kartika is also used to cut through human obscurations to progress on the spiritual path including "pride, lack of belief, lack of devotion, distraction, inattention, and boredom."