- Title
- Amulet Box Pendant with Green Tara and Manjushri
- Date Made
- circa 1800-1850
- Medium
- Gilt silver, chased and repoussé, and gilt silver filigree; inset with coral, turquoise, and lapis lazuli
- Dimensions
- 2 7/8 x 2 7/8 x 1 in. (7.3 x 7.3 x 2.54 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.2003.20
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Bejeweled amulets and amulet cases worn by royalty and the wealthy not only serve as bodily ornaments and to display personal wealth, but they can also be visual indicators of political status or a particular cultural, religious, or ethnic identity. Certain amulets or pendants are believed to provide the wearer with prophylactic protection from malevolent forces. Usually made of precious or apotropaic materials, they are often empowered with enclosed sacred verses and/or astrological, numerical, or mystical symbols written on paper (see M.76.2.25).
Here, rather than containing an inscribed sacrament, two revered Buddhist deities are embodied in gemstones. On the cover Green (Shyama) Tara is represented in turquoise with gilt silver and red coral jewelry and lotus attributes. She sits on a throne made of lapis lazuli. She is centered against a flowering tree made of gilt silver filigree and turquoise blossoms. The border is made of red coral and bead molding. In the interior Manjushri is depicted in red coral with gilt silver and turquoise jewelry. His throne is made of turquoise. He is placed against a similar flowering tree. Repeated designs in gilt silver wire scrollwork enrich the exterior and interior edges. The inside of the cover is adorned with an incised Endless Knot, symbolic of the Buddha’s infinite wisdom and compassion, and a vegetal border. The bottom is embellished with a repoussé crossed vajra (vishvavajra). The pendant is suspended by a bead and reel tube.
See numerous comparable amulet pendants in Jane Casey Singer, Gold Jewelry from Tibet and Nepal (New York: Thames and Hudson, 1996); and John Clarke, Jewellery of Tibet and Himalayas (London: V&A Publications, 2004).
- Selected Bibliography
- Xingyun, editor. Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts. Los Angeles: Buddha's Light Publications USA, 2018.
