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Lot 70

A necromancer's bone ensemble
Nepal, 18th/19th century

14 September 2015, 14:00 EDT
New York

Sold for US$10,000 inc. premium

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A necromancer's bone ensemble

Nepal, 18th/19th century
The girdle with seven large and six small leaves finely carved with various tantric divinities, above a lattice of beads and auspicious symbols, and makara panels along the bottom; together with a crown, a necklace, two armlets, a leg band, a finial, and two extra roundels.
Various Irregular: Girdle: 29 x 30 1/4 in. (73.7 x 76.8 cm); Largest leaf: 6 1/4 in. (16 cm) long; Armlets: 4 x 5 1/4 in. (10 x 13.3 cm); Roundels: 2 x 1/2 in. (5 x 3.7 cm)

Footnotes

尼泊爾 十八/十九世紀 骨雕纓絡法師裙並纓絡配飾

As noted by Marsh: 'Bone aprons were worn as ritual garments meant to vivify the practitioner or priest during Tantric ceremonial practices. The significance of wearing such ornamentation symbolizes one's own death and the necessary release of one's attachment to the human physical body in order to effectively pursue enlightenment. This is further realized in the use of human bones collected from charnel fields.' - Mirrors of the Heart-Mind, Huntington Archive, 1998

Compare with closely related examples in the National Museum, Scotland, acquired by Major William John Ottley (A.1905.352); in the Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden (see Goidsenhoven, Art Lamaïque, Arts des Dieux, Brussels, 1970, p. 237, X4); and published in Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Madrid, 2000, p. 117, no. 55.

Referenced:
HAR – himalayanart.org/items/41254

Provenance:
Sotheby's, New York, 28 March 1996, lot 238

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