Tibetan Gold, Silver & Turquoise Official’s Hair Amulet Ornament (Ta Ghab)

Made of gold, silver and 21 turquoise cabochons, this type of oval amulet ga’u 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 their braided hair on the top of the head as a symbol of their rank.

The turquoise cabochons on the face of the ga’u have been cut like flat tiles so that they fit together.

The stones are set in gold sheet in box settings, and in resin. The sides of the ga’u are decorated with silver wire work arrayed as flower motifs. The backing plate on the reverse is of silver. The upper part of the ga’u has a tube through which a hair braid could be threaded. The lower part features a vajra or stylised thunderbolt motif.

See an 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 excellent condition.

 

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.