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Primary sourceArtifact1407

Ritual Flaying Knife from the Yongle Imperial Workshop

1407

A ceremonial knife made in the Yongle Emperor's imperial workshop in 1407 and gifted to a Tibetan Buddhist patriarch.

Commissioned by the Yongle Emperor's imperial workshop as a diplomatic gift to a Tibetan Buddhist patriarch.

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A gilt-bronze and iron ritual knife with a crescent-shaped steel blade curving upward at the left end. The gold handle has a vajra-style finial, a lotus-petal collar, and a fierce animal-head mask at the blade junction. Gray studio backdrop.
Ritual flaying knife, Yongle imperial workshop, 1407.

About this source

What it is

This gilt-bronze and iron ritual knife has a crescent-shaped blade and a gold handle decorated with a vajra finial and an animal-head mask. It was made in 1407 in the imperial workshop of the Yongle Emperor as part of a set of tantric Buddhist art.

Why it matters

The Yongle Emperor commissioned this object as a diplomatic and religious gift to a Tibetan patriarch, showing how Ming China used art and religion to build political relationships with Tibetan Buddhist leaders. It reveals the emperor's direct personal involvement in commissioning fine ritual objects.

Look closer

  • Why might an emperor send a religious object as a diplomatic gift?
  • What do the decorative details tell you about the skill and purpose of the imperial workshop?
  • What does this object suggest about relations between Ming China and Tibet at this time?

This artifact is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Yongle Emperor on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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