Tibetan Woman’s Pair of Turquoise & Gilt Ear Ornaments (Akor)

This pair (or near pair) of ear pendants (akor) is set with old, flat turquoise cabochon plaques within gilded silver mounts. The mounts are further embellished with pearled wire edging and applied spheres.

The pair shows good signs of wear and age and date to the nineteenth century.

The reverse of each has hooks to allow suspension. The reverse of one also has an old ‘native’ repair.

Ear pendants such as these were too bulky and heavy to be worn from holes in the ear lobes and so were worn near the ears as if they were earrings. Typically they were suspended from the wearer’s headdress via the hooks on the reverse.

The pair here is typical of the Lhasa style that was worn by aristocratic wives.

Ear pendants of similar form are illustrated in Casey Singer (1996, p. 126), and in Clarke (2004, p. 73).

The examples here are without losses to the turquoise, and have a fine patina, and obvious age.