Page 82 - Indian, Himalaya and Asian Art Bonhams Setp 2015

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A NECROMANCER’S BONE ENSEMBLE
Nepal, 18th/19th century
The girdle with seven large and six small
leaves finely carved with various tantric
divinities, above a lattice of beads and
auspicious symbols, and makara panels
along the bottom; together with a crown, a
necklace, two armlets, a leg band, a finial,
and two extra roundels.
Various Irregular: Girdle: 29 x 30 1/4 in. (73.7
x 76.8 cm); Largest leaf: 6 1/4 in. (16 cm)
long; Armlets: 4 x 5 1/4 in. (10 x 13.3 cm);
Roundels: 2 x 1/2 in. (5 x 3.7 cm)
$10,000 - 15,000

尼泊爾 十八／十九世紀 骨雕纓絡法師裙並
纓絡配飾

As noted by Marsh: ‘Bone aprons were
worn as ritual garments meant to vivify the
practitioner or priest during Tantric ceremonial
practices. The significance of wearing
such ornamentation symbolizes one’s own
death and the necessary release of one’s
attachment to the human physical body in
order to effectively pursue enlightenment. This
is further realized in the use of human bones
collected from charnel fields.’ - Mirrors of the
Heart-Mind, Huntington Archive, 1998

Compare with closely related examples in
the National Museum, Scotland, acquired
by Major William John Ottley (A.1905.352);
in the Museum Volkenkunde, Leiden (see
Goidsenhoven, Art Lamaïque, Arts des Dieux,
Brussels, 1970, p. 237, X4); and published in
Monasterios y lamas del Tibet, Madrid, 2000,
p. 117, no. 55.

Referenced
HAR – himalayanart.org/items/41254

Provenance
Sotheby’s, New York, 28 March 1996, lot 238

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