A kapala is a skull cup used as a ritual implement (bowl) in both Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra (Vajrayana). Especially in Tibet, they are often carved or elaborately mounted with precious metals and jewels.
Kapala
Bhairava's image in the Durbar Square, Kathmandu. He holds the kapala in his lower right hand, near his chest
Tibetan carved kapala
The Buddhist Deities Chakrasamvara and Vajravarahi, circa 15th century Painted Kapala is seen on one of the left hands
A skull cup is a drinking vessel or eating bowl made from an inverted human calvaria that has been cut away from the rest of the skull. The use of a human skull as a drinking cup in ritual use or as a trophy is reported in numerous sources throughout history and among various peoples, and among Western cultures is most often associated with the historically nomadic cultures of the Eurasian Steppe.
The skull cup from Gough's Cave
Hindu deity Bhairava with a kapala (skull cup) in his hand
Bulgarian Khan Krum the Fearsome feasts with his nobles as a servant (right) brings the skull of Nikephoros I, fashioned into a drinking cup, full of wine.
Sebastian Münster Cosmographia (Basel, 1550) page 193, concerning Lombards and imaginatively illustrating the notorious skull cup
