Skip to main content

This auction has ended. View lot details

You may also be interested in

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

Lot 114

MIROIR D'ORACLE EN LAITON DORÉ ORNÉ D'ARGENT SUR SOCLE EN BOIS POLYCHROME
BOURIATIE, XIXE SIÈCLE

15 December 2022, 14:00 CET
Paris, Avenue Hoche

Sold for €3,187.50 inc. premium

Own a similar item?

Submit your item online for a free auction estimate.

How to sell

Looking for a similar item?

Our Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.

Find your local specialist

Ask about this lot

MIROIR D'ORACLE EN LAITON DORÉ ORNÉ D'ARGENT SUR SOCLE EN BOIS POLYCHROME

BOURIATIE, XIXE SIÈCLE
Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205020
44.4 cm (17 1/2 in.) high overall;
Mirror: 24.1 cm (9 1/2 in.) diam.

Footnotes

A GILT BRASS SILVER-APPLIED ORACLE MIRROR ON A POLYCHROME WOOD STAND
BURIATIA, 19TH CENTURY

布里亞特 十九世紀 銅鎏金飾銀護法鏡連木雕加彩底座

Mirrors such as these were used by Tibetan oracles in divination practices. Often presented at the center of these mirrors are seed syllables, or mystical sounds symbolizing the origin or causation of things. Cast in silver here is the sound for, 'HUM,' designed to invoke the principles of the enlightened mind.

There are notable parallels between Tibetan oracles and Siberian shamans, particularly in their similar use of mirrors for divination. Buriat shamans wear copper plates with reflective surfaces called toli, which correspond to mirrors worn by Tibetan oracle priest around the chest (see Spink, Art of Buriatia, 1996, p. 546).

Published:
Spink & Son Ltd., Art of Buriatia: Buddhist icons from Southern Siberia, London 1996, p.46, no.47.

Provenance:
Spink & Son Ltd., London, 1996

Additional information

Bid now on these items

A pair of celadon saucer dishes with Jingwei tang zhi hall marks 18th/19th century

TRÈS RARE ET BELLE ASSIETTE EN LAQUE SCULPTÉE Marque et époque Jiajing (1522-1566)