Tibetan Phurba with Hayagrivan in bronze, probably 19th Century. With triple divinity, horse head and cobra. 37 cm high A phurba, or ritual dagger, is an object used in vajrayāna or tantric Buddhism to mark sacred spaces and keep evil spirits away. It is made of an alloy of copper and other metals, decorated with coral and turquoise, and consists of several assembled parts. The upper part has three heads representing joy, disgust and equanimity, the central part is a vajra or sceptre, and the lower part is a triple-bladed knife that symbolises the fire of wisdom and the virtues of charity, chastity and patience, which confronts the vices of hatred, laziness and greed. The knife emerges from the mouth of a water monster, the makara, which is a symbol of good luck. The use of the phurba in Tibet dates back to the 8th Century, initially by shamans before the advent of Buddhism. Priests use it in initiation ceremonies, exorcisms and to mark the centre of mandalas. In these rituals, the dagger immobilises demons and negative forces represented in effigies, with the help of mantras and mudras. The larger phurba are placed in temples as a symbol of power and of the great Lama, associated with Jupiter and Thursday. Their design is also reminiscent of tools used to immobilise animals in Indian Vedic rituals and in Mongolian tents, highlighting their function of transforming negative forces into positive ones. Only initiated priests are allowed to handle them because of the risks of misuse. In good condition.