- Title
- Woman’s Headdress Ornament
- 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)
- Accession Number
- M.81.3.2
- 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.