An atique, 19th Century or earlier (much earlier) tsakli painting in mineral pigments depicting a skull cup (Sanskrit: kepala) fashioned from the oval upper section of a human cranium which serves as a libation vessel for many Vajrayana deities, particularly wrathful and protector deities, yidam, dakinis, siddhas. and tantric lineage holders. In the hands of these deities and human emanations the symbolic meanings placed upon the skull-cup are both complex and multi-facetted.
Upon a tripod of 3 skulls, representing the 3 vajras of Body, Speech and Mind, and resting on a female leopard skin meditation mat, sits a skull cup filled with blue 'amrita' representing Method, or the 'nectar medicine of male semen' (Sanskrit: kunda) which creates the solid white organs of the body -bone brain, marrow and spinal cord.
This assembly are offerings to deities of the 'Father Tantra' class which emphasizes the cultivation of Method and the realisation of the 'illusory body'. 10 lines of Tibetan text plus 3 syllables in two different 'hands' to the reverse. 8.5 x 13.7cm