A Kalachakra Amulet Box (Ga’u)
Eastern Tibet, late 19th century
height: 10.5 cm, width: 11.5 cm, depth: 4.8 cm
This box comprise two separate halves. Its face is engraved
with the ideogram that represents the all-powerful ten
syllables of the kalachakra mantra. It contains a strip of aged
paper printed on both sides with rows of Tibetan script. The
box has a good patina and wear from having been worn.
Ga’us were worn by Tibetans about the body and contained
protective amulets such as relics and pieces of paper with
written or stamped invocations or diagrams. The sale of such
relics provided lamas and their monasteries with a steady
income stream particularly as everyone used ga’us, from the
very poor to each member of the nobility. Typically they were
worn when the owner was travelling. For long or difficult
journeys as many as a dozen might have been worn to face
all directions to protect themselves from evil no matter what
direction it might come.
Inventory no.: 42
Eastern Tibet, late 19th century
height: 10.5 cm, width: 11.5 cm, depth: 4.8 cm
This box comprise two separate halves. Its face is engraved
with the ideogram that represents the all-powerful ten
syllables of the kalachakra mantra. It contains a strip of aged
paper printed on both sides with rows of Tibetan script. The
box has a good patina and wear from having been worn.
Ga’us were worn by Tibetans about the body and contained
protective amulets such as relics and pieces of paper with
written or stamped invocations or diagrams. The sale of such
relics provided lamas and their monasteries with a steady
income stream particularly as everyone used ga’us, from the
very poor to each member of the nobility. Typically they were
worn when the owner was travelling. For long or difficult
journeys as many as a dozen might have been worn to face
all directions to protect themselves from evil no matter what
direction it might come.
Inventory no.: 42
