Unknown
Woman’s Headdress Ornamentlate 19th century

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Woman’s Headdress Ornament
Place Made: Central Tibet, Lhasa (by a Newar artist)
Date Made: late 19th century
Medium: Gilt silver inlaid with turquoise, garnets, coral, and pearls
Dimensions: Diameter: 4 1/8 in. (10.48 cm); Depth: 1 3/8 in. (3.49 cm)
Credit Line: Indian Art Special Purpose Fund
Accession Number: M.81.3.2
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Previously identified as a brooch (Pal 1983 and 1990, pp. 254-255, no. R20), this lotus medallion was more likely a headdress ornament (see AC1993.147.1). Its concentric bands of decoration simultaneously allude to a mandala. Due to its gem-encrusted construction technique, it was likely made by Newar artist working in Tibet.

The headdress ornament and a pair of akor head ornaments (M.81.3.1a-b) were reputedly acquired in Tibet by Sir Francis Younghusband (1863–1942), who led the punitive British-Indian expedition to Tibet in 1904. (Pal 1983 and 1990, pp. 254-255, no. R20.)
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.

Not on view

No image

Artist or Maker: Unknown
Title: Woman’s Headdress Ornament
Place Made: Central Tibet, Lhasa (by a Newar artist)
Date Made: late 19th century
Medium: Gilt silver inlaid with turquoise, garnets, coral, and pearls
Dimensions: Diameter: 4 1/8 in. (10.48 cm); Depth: 1 3/8 in. (3.49 cm)
Credit Line: Indian Art Special Purpose Fund
Accession Number: M.81.3.2
Classification: Jewelry and Adornments
Collecting Area: South and Southeast Asian Art
Curatorial Notes: Previously identified as a brooch (Pal 1983 and 1990, pp. 254-255, no. R20), this lotus medallion was more likely a headdress ornament (see AC1993.147.1). Its concentric bands of decoration simultaneously allude to a mandala. Due to its gem-encrusted construction technique, it was likely made by Newar artist working in Tibet.

The headdress ornament and a pair of akor head ornaments (M.81.3.1a-b) were reputedly acquired in Tibet by Sir Francis Younghusband (1863–1942), who led the punitive British-Indian expedition to Tibet in 1904. (Pal 1983 and 1990, pp. 254-255, no. R20.)
Selected Bibliography: Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Los Angeles; Berkeley, CA: Los Angeles County Museum of Art; University of California Press, 1983.
Pal, Pratapaditya. Art of Tibet. Expanded edition. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1990.