Ga’u (Gau) Amulet Box, Tibet, Antique

Kalachakra Amulet Box (Ga’u)

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.