Nepalese Kapala or Ritual Skull Vessel

Three small faces carry the weight. The skull above them carries the rest.

This kapala, or ritual skull vessel, comes from Nepal and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is silver. The skull cup appears across Himalayan tantric traditions, where it is associated with wrathful deities and with the overcoming of attachment. A lobed flame rises on a gilded stem from the crown, with a beaded ornament spreading at the back. Its domed lid carries a stippled lip and small glass-like eyes. Three carved heads act as feet. It measures 6 inches wide, 10 deep and 11.5 high.

It asks a difficult question, and it was built to go on asking.