Christine de Schaetzen
Representative
Himalayan Art Online / GAU EN ALLIAGE D'ARGENT ET DE CUIVRE DORE TIBET, XIXE SIECLE
Sold for €2,805 inc. premium
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A SILVER AND GILT COPPER ALLOY GAU
TIBET, 19TH CENTURY
With applied roundels of Atisha, lineage masters, and offering goddesses. Compare with closely related examples in Rubin Museum of Art, New York (HAR 57003) and the Museum Rietberg, Zürich (Uhlig, On the Path to Enlightenment, Zürich, 1995, p.211, no.158.
As Henss notes, "A metal ga'u serves as a kind of multi-functional amulet box for protection and prayer, defence and decoration, as a personal emblem of rank and social status, or to ensure good health and wealth, safe travel and good business." (Buddhist Ritual Art of Tibet, Stuttgart, 2020, p.368.)
Provenance
Private European Collection assembled in the 1960s and 1970s