Eight 20th C. Mini Tibetan Bone & Stone Skull Beads

Lot 106

About Seller

686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States

Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more

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Warehouse Clear Out - Ancient & Ethnographic by Artemis Gallery

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Warehouse Clear Out - Ancient & Ethnographic

By Artemis Gallery

Dec 20, 2018

Set Reminder 2018-12-20 10:00:00 2018-12-20 10:00:00 America/New_York Bidsquare Bidsquare : Warehouse Clear Out - Ancient & Ethnographic https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/warehouse-clear-out---ancient-ethnographic-3742 Time to clear out the warehouse, as these lots are going, going, gone... plus a we've added a nice selection of lots brand-new to auction! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com

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Lot Description

**First Time At Auction**

Central Asia, Tibet, ca. 20th century CE. A wonderful ensemble of miniature skull beads or amulets, hand-carved from stones of a variety of colors as well as bone, perhaps from a human skull. Each skull exhibits a classic presentation of hollow, deep-set orbitals, a triangular nose cavity, bared teeth, nicely contoured cheeks, and a domed cranium. Some of the teeth are intentionally missing on one example, and one skull is missing its lower mandible. One skull has a small metal pin attached to the underside to create an interesting and macabre brooch. A fabulous collection! Size of largest: 1" L x 0.9" H (2.5 cm x 2.3 cm)

Skulls, and human skulls in particular, are an immensely important component of Tibetan religious ceremonies and are seen and used in a variety of practices. One of the most recognizable uses are through the creation and subsequent use of the kapala. Kapalas are beautiful drinking vessels made from skulls stripped of their flesh during sky burials, the Buddhist offering of the dead human form to local birds and other carnivorous wildlife. Kapala and other ceremonial objects made from bone are part of the Tantric practice of reflection upon decause and the corruption of the corporeal form, as well as the desire to destroy the duality of attractiveness versus repulsion. These miniature skulls, for example, lend to this notion by creating something beautiful and full of character out of something that has essentially ceased in its journey through the realm of the living.

Provenance: private Boulder, Colorado, USA collection; ex-collection of Joel Malter, Los Angeles, California, USA; ex-Hubert Hosenbacher collection

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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#140635

Condition

A few skulls have minor nicks, some fading to finer incised details, and some darkening to carved areas, otherwise intact and excellent. Light earthen deposits throughout.
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