Antique Indian jeweled tassel. Suspend from a Chinese hardwood display stand, this Indian tassel is woven with gold, threaded with pearls and ends with a umbrella form over a tiny bell - all set with pearls, emeralds, rubies and diamonds in 18k gold.

Age: Mughal Empire (1526-1857) circa 18th/19th century

Dimensions: Tassel size: 4 1/4" high x 1 1/4" wide. Size including display stand: 7 3/4" high x 4 3/8" wide x 3" deep

Old wooden Phurba...nicely aged patina from handling and use... Faces topped with diadems, 3 side "blade"section has carved scroll design almost 11 inches long high. Alternative spelling...phurpa,phurbha, Pronunciation: Fur-bah The Phurba is a special triple sided Tibetan ritual dagger or stake, patterned after an ancient Vedic tool. Originated as a stake that tethered sacrificial animals...

Chinese/Tibetan antique rectangular pillar rug with blue five-clawed dragon. The elongated middle section of the dragon exits the plane of the rug on either side. The dragon has five claws and is woven in shade of blue on a yellow ground with wisps of clouds and auspicious symbols. Details like it's teeth are woven in white and it's nose, tongue and flames are a coral color...

Out of Mongolia, this old leather tobacco pouch was made with a large button for hanging, long leather tassels, home made interesting decorative leather ornamentation...and hanging hook for removing old tobacco from pipe... Clearly old and well used: the leather is still playable. Great example of ethnographic folk art

An unusual model of Phurba in lost wax cast bronze and gilded with mercury. Iron blade. The handle is made up of a whole bust of the deity and not just a head as we can usually find it. Known models with busts are extremely rare, there are 2 or 3 in the museums of Delhi. Examination shows us that it is not a montage from a cut statuette but that the bust was cast especially for this Phurba. The lower part of the skull necklace was broken and lost; it was replaced...

Antique Indian « ayigalu », lingam casket, used by the Lingayat in Karnatakka ; complete with its chain. 6 x 5cms. CE 236 (see Bibliography)

Antique Tibetan figure of a seated Lohan, one of the 18 arhats of Buddha. He sits with one knee supporting his left hand which is outstretched, holding an object while gesturing in the Karana mudra (dispelling demons). He holds his right hand at chest level. His facial features are intense and his mouth slightly open to reveal rows of small teeth. His hair is cropped short and maintains the remnants of black pigment...

Indian Wood Stele of Indra and Consort seated in 'royal ease' on lotus throne under the crest of the flaming Kirtimukha lion-torso figure with arms outstretched. Wondrously carved, standing attendants at each side. Worn with devotional usage. Traces of old pigment. Pair of recumbent elephants and deity at base.

Handley Collection, purchased Sotheby's March 1988

circa 1700s Size: 23"H x 13" W x 5" D

An incredible Tibetan gilt bronze dynamic figure of Vajrabhairava, the wrathful form Manjushri. In Tibetan: dor je jig je, pa wo chigpa. In English: The Solitary Hero Vajra Terror. Vajrabairava is part of the practice of Yamataka (of the Gelug tradition). In this sculpture, Vajrabairava is locked in tantric embrace with his female counterpart. He has 9 faces, the central face being of a buffalo and the uppermost head that of Manjushri...

Deity head in hammered bronze. The bronze is very thick, the ears are cast separately and welded. The hair is perfectly chiseled with a lot of elegance. The patina is verdigris and recalls that of ancient Roman bronzes. It is highly probable that this head was buried for several centuries. We were unable to locate it geographically. India, Himalayas, Afghanistan, Swat valley....? The appearance of the metal and its patina would indicate a high period of several centuries...

Indian stone bust of Brahma with three heads, Central India. Crowned headdress with raiment of a royal being. Light grey stone, benevolent countenance.
Brahma known as the creator god in Hinduism. He is also a consort of Saraswati and he is the father of Four Kumaras, Narada, Daksha, Marich, along with many more.

Several Puranas describe him as emerging from a lotus, connected to the navel of Lord Vishnu...

Indian Ramayana mask of Hanuman, General of King Sugriva's army of monkeys in the great Ramayana epic, wearing his headdress with 3 tips.
Old and heavy hard wood mask, beautiful patina, remnants of blue pigments.
Very good condition. 27x17 cms. More than 100 years old, most likely 19th C . India, Himachal Pradesh

Mask of a grotesque character with twisted nose ; accident on the left side, slit on the chin (see pix) ; 26 x 16 cms.
End of 19th - beginning of 20th C, West Nepal, Gurung.

Ceremonial Konyak necklace ; glass beads, bronze, shell. H closed : 38c. India, Nagaland, Konyak

From our Indian Subcontinent Collection, a good Kashmiri silver surahi (water flask), 19th century, of compressed globular base with elongated neck and attached stopper secured by linked silver chain, well-decorated with chased vegetal and floral designs typical for Kashmiri silversmithing of this period. Overall a very attractive example with elegant proportions and good presence.

Size and Condition: 9 1/2 inches tall, 5 1/2 inches in diameter at its widest point on base...

The charming old tribal womans purse is heavily embroidered on each side and is decorated with mirrors and cowrie shells. Condition is very good, no rips, no tears, just beautifully faded vegetable dyes.

Tibetan woman wore their hair in long braids which were slipped into elaborately embroidered textile sleeves for festivals.

This antique Tibetan purse would have been used as a costume ornament during festival. It is decorated with silver and bronze fittings and coral and turquoise stones. Passed from generation to generation, and used extensively, this piece shows it age. Such purses would have held precious coins and the occasional flint but would not be considered as a Tibetan "strike a light" because of the lack of the striker plate.