Abstract
The proper skull cup [Tib. thod pa, ban+dha etc.; Sans. kapāla] used as an offering vessel in various Tibetan rituals should have its appropriate characteristics, as is described (in great detail) in a genre of religious craniological (phrenological) manuals called "thö tag" [Tib. thod brtags]. After a philological analysis of a dozen of these texts, the question of authenticity arose when searching for such proper ritual implement on the on-line market places and across the private collections.
The origin of these objects is typically questionable as well as their ornamentations, carvings, and other decorations. The appearance of such "jewel-like" items is in stark contrast with the primal idea of using skulls as all-purpose bowls by certain Śaivite tantric ascetics (referred to most often as the Kapālikas) in India, which apparently influenced the Tibetans and their ritual application of skulls.
The Tibetan yogis do not possess skull cups even remotely resembling most of the goods available on the market today, as will be illustrated on several examples. This paper addresses the contrast between the tradition (both textual and material) and the contemporary commercialization of the thod pa, which ultimately reflects the larger issue of marketing Tibetan religious and material culture in the West.
The omni-present "orientalistic" perspective heavily stimulates the production of these vessels, which are still being advertised as "Tibetan", yet clearly of non-Tibetan provenience. Consequently, the word "Tibetan" slowly became just a trademark.
The Western buyers' motivation and attitude towards these ritual implements is thus different - by taking the thod pa out of its original cultural context and ritual framework, it is no more "used as an instrument" but "owned as an object".