Tibetan Gilded Brass & Turquoise Official’s Hair Amulet Ornament (Ta Ghab)

Made of gilded brass and small turquoise cabochons round one large central turquoise cabochon, this type of oval amulet box was worn in the hair by male Government officials of the Fourth Rank and above in the Dalai Lama’s government in Lhasa.

The box was worn in the braided hair on the top of the head as a symbol of their rank.

The box is unusual for the raised setting of the front, all within a double gilded-brass crenulated border. The sides of the box are overlaid with brass filigree wire-work.

The upper part of the ga’u has tube through which a hair braid could be threaded. The lower part features a vajra or stylised thunderbolt motif. It also features a tube. Both tubes have been filled with wood, presumably by the original owner.

The backing plate that ordinarily would close the box on the reverse is now missing. Evidently it was missing when the owner wore it as well, because (now old) threads have been tied across the back.

See a related example in the Victoria & Albert Museum acquired by the East India Company Museum in 1855. This example also is illustrated in Clarke (2004, p. 65).

The example here is in fine condition. There is much wear to the suspension tube and a generally worn patina overall.

 

Above: A government official wearing in his braided hair an amulet box similar to the example here. It can be seen on the top of his head. He also wears a single, long sochi earring – another sign of his rank. Photographed around 1936-37.