Tibetan Tokcha

Copper Alloy Amulet (Thokcha or Tokcha) of Tara

This small, well-worn tokcha shows Tara, the Buddhist goddess of protection. The goddess stands within a stupa. A small lug to the reverse allowed the talisman to be worn or perhaps sewn onto clothing.Tokchas are small talismans usually of bronze or copper alloy that Tibetans used to wear about their person to protect them and to absorb evil. Particularly effective or powerful tokchas would be sold on and passed down through the generations so that genuine and powerful tokchas should show a great deal of wear, as in the case of the example here.

Bashkanov, M., M. Bashkanov, P. Petrov, & N. Serikoff, Arts from the Land of Timur: An Exhibition from a Scottish Private Collection, Sogdiana Books, 2012.

Heller, A.,

Early Himalayan Art, Ashmolean Museum, 2008.

private collection, UK.