A Tantric Buddhist ritual bone ornament depicting a dancing Citipati skeleton, originating from the Tibet/Nepal region and dating to the late 19th or early 20th century.


The object measures 22 cm in height, 5 cm in width, and 5 cm in depth, weighing 112 grams; it is mounted on a transparent resin base for easy display.
It comes from a Dutch private collection dedicated to Nepalese and Tibetan Buddhist art.


This is a ceremonial bone element—part of a more complex structure known as a *chöd* apron—worn by monks or spiritual masters (lamas) during Tantric ritual dances.
These dances, practiced particularly within the Vajrayāna tradition, embody the union of compassion and wisdom through the dissolution of the ego and the acceptance of death as a path to liberation. Aprons composed of human or animal bone elements—sometimes derived from ritual funerary practices—were considered powerfully apotropaic and symbolic objects.


According to Tibetan mythology, the Citipati were two ascetics beheaded while meditating; they became guardian spirits symbolizing the impermanence of life and the transience of the body. Their perpetual dance represents not death, but transcendence: a celebration of awareness beyond the cycle of *samsara*.
These ornaments were an integral part of sacred dances (*Cham*) performed in monasteries during festivals such as Losar or Gutor, where the energy of demons was purified and death was confronted with wisdom.


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