Gau Box Pendant Embossed With Tibetan Buddhist Mandala (Made In Nepal)

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The gau box is a very expressive element of Tibetan Buddhist practice. What we call a box in our parlance is actually meant to be a portable shrine. The devotee installs one's chosen deity, preferably the ishtadevta or ishtadevi, inside the same and carries it around on one's person. It is designed with all the beauty and precision of artisanry that are due to a shrine, and conveys an essential aspect of Tibetan Buddhism. One's devotion is not confined by time or space, and has a mark on one's bearing even when one is elsewhere. Gau box-shrines have traditionally been worn on the traveller-devotee's belt or locket, to be placed at an altar when not on the road. The one-of-a-kind gau box pendant is designed to be strewn onto a chain and worn as a locket around the neck.

It is a fine example of Nepalese handiwork. While the paintings and sculptures produced in the region are coveted by spiritual art patrons across the world, its jewellery is no less. This pendant boasts of a sterling silver foundation, overlaid with dense gold filligree and gemstone embellishments. The delicate tracery as well as the pastel blue and red gems, each more exquisitely shaped than the other, are both characteristic of regional workmanship. The quadrilateral motif that dominates the foreground (and surrounds the central red, gold-rimmed gemstone) is the all-important Buddhist mandala.