Small statue of a protector, with a high coiffe, sitting on a rounded base, his hands in praying posture. Strongly eroded wood. Nepal, early 20th century or earlier. Height: 32 cm. The statue is nicely mounted on a custom stand.
Silver pot with an elaborate embossed decoration consisting in a dragon on its handle, a "makara" on its spout, Buddhist symbols on its neck, and dragons and stylized lotus on its body. Tibet, 19th century. Height: 14.5 ccm. Very good condition.
A Kashmir papier-mache vase with polychrome and gold lacquer decoration in the Mughal style. Showing couple of birds on a mille-fleurs ground or a golden feather pattern, framed by a mihrab border. The sides with two small handles in the shape of tiger heads. Condition: some chips and losses to the lacquer. Dimension: c. 22.8 cm high.
Early 19th century Indian bronze votive sculpture of Ganesha with the usual attributes in his hands, and a very worn rat - his vehicle - by his right knee, cast in the state of Karnataka. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, and thus is invoked before any new undertaking. He bestows good luck on his worshippers, and is invoked in marriage ceremonies and in some forms of Tantric worship...
Late 18th to early 19th century Indian bronze votive sculpture of Ganesha sitting on a base, cast in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, and thus is invoked before any new undertaking. He bestows good luck on his worshippers, and is invoked in marriage ceremonies and in some forms of Tantric worship. Very good casting with nice thinly cast base, beautiful warm patina, overall in very good condition for a votive piece...
19th century Indian bronze votive sculpture of Ganesha sitting on a round base, cast in the Indian state of Karnataka. Ganesha is the remover of obstacles, and thus is invoked before any new undertaking. He bestows good luck on his worshippers, and is invoked in marriage ceremonies and in some forms of Tantric worship. Bold heavy casting with good sense of volume, beautiful warm patina, pleasant feel of age. Height 1 5/8 inches.
Pendant of rectangular shape ending in a triangle on its top, with a loop for possible attachment to a necklace. The pendant is decorated with an embossed design of tribal style representing Hindu god Virabhadra standing with his four arms and weapons/attributes, and surrounded by a dotted aureola. Bronze, with fine reddish green patina. India, 18th century. Height: 5.3 cm. Very good condition.
This beautiful antique short strand of beads would have been carried in the pocket and taken out for ritual religious prayer...2 spacer counter beads are honey amber and the 3rd is red coral...
Small Shiva lingam carved on black stone, with four deities heads in relief around the lingam. The object is eroded with age, and encrusted with remnants of ritual substances, but the decoration is still visible. Nepal, 15th century or earlier. Height: 6.5 cm. Length: 8 cm. Good condition.
Though the traditional practice of Tibetan "sky burial" is well known. But in some areas of Tibet the Buddhist practice of cremation is also used for some individuals, and The ashes are placed in a box made specifically for that purpose.
This cremation box dates to the 18th century and has carved line decoration on the sides...
It is made so that the top is keyed to the bottom and slides open from one end...
A very rare Phurba ritual dagger of purple zitan wood with three heads of protectors on the top, a central vajra in the handle and the head of a garuda holding the triangular blade. Tibet, 15/16th century. L 28 cm. Condition: Good wear and only a few minor chips.
Architectural element, of triangular form, finely carved in relief to represent a celestial being, half chimera half human, carrying a banner and surrounded by clouds. Wood, age patina. Nepal, 18th century. Length: 36.5 cm. Nicely mounted on a custom stand. Good condition.
This Tibetan shrine shaped gau (aka prayer box) is actually a religious shrine. When not being worn as an ornament during festivals, it would be kept in the prayer niche of the family home. The back of the box slides open. Frequently, a special prayer i.e. sutra pages would be placed inside. The small glass window at the front displays a Tsa tsa, which is a clay statue of a Buddhist Diety. These statues were made only by the monks and considered to be a holy relic...
Four-armed sword wielding Virabhadra is a manifestation of Shiva. In this form, he decapitated the demigod Daksha who had insulted him, but in doing so, he interrupted the demigod's sacrifice by which all beings are created. Virabhadra later revived Daksha by replacing his head with that of a goat, thus ensuring the demigod survived and the continuance of creation...
Very old anthropomorphic statue of a deity protecting a household, staying on a circular base, with an expressive face and hands in praying posture. Eroded wood, age patina. Nepal, 19th century. Height: 33.3 cm. The statue is nicely mounted on a custom stand. Collected in the early seventies in the Himalayan region.
Finely cast small statue of Krishna depicted, according to tradition, as a mischievous boy, reclining and stealing the butter ball. Krishna is wearing a diadem, at the back of which is a loop suggesting that this statue was originally used as a pendant. Bronze, with with partly encrusted reddish green patina, with traces off ritual material. Nepal, 17th century. Length: 4.9 cm. height: 4.3 cm. Very good condition.
THANGKA
Tibetan Buddhist thangka painting on silk and cotton fabric mounted as a portable scroll for the monk who visit the villages and use it for telling Buddhist doctrine or Buddha's biography to the people. 18th century. Rare valued piece with calm and mercy. The condition is as seen. (lack of a rod, but attached with a gut for hanging) approx...
This unusual small triangular shaped snuff bottle
2 of the 3 sides of the piece have carefully repouse Tibetan symbols..no makers marks...a few tiny dents ...no loss.
It was brought back from Tibet by a man who went on a long walkabout from Istanbul to Tibet back in the late 60's...China was not open at the time...and Tibet ..he traveled with a backpack,limited space,few small momentoes and he was picky...old pieces only...
bottle is approx 1.75 inches high