Page 8 - 2020 September 23 Himalyan and Southeast Asian Works of Art Bonhams

601
A TURQUOISE AND GOLD ‘MOONEATER’ (CHEPPU)
LHASA, TIBET, CIRCA 1900
Inset with rubies and carnelian.
Himalayan Art Resources item no.16825
4 1/2 X 3 in. (11.4 x 7.6 cm)

$45,000 - 55,000
拉薩 西藏 約1900年 金嵌綠松石胸飾

The magnificent brooch, known as a ‘mooneater’ (cheppu), epitomizes
this most sought-after article of antique Tibetan jewelry. Until the late
1940s, ‘mooneaters’ were worn by Tibetan officials during New Year
Festivals. This colloquialism derives from the festival’s lunar calendar
and the article having the appearance of a surmounting kirtimukha
(‘face of glory’) biting into a large disc (moon). However, these
components are ubiquitous Buddhist symbols, the disc represents
a lotus, which signifies any being’s ability to attain enlightenment
regardless of their origin, and the kirtimukha is a talisman which
protects the wearer from harm.

Details within this example surpass most others and include the
textured surfaces of the first concentric lotus band, the kirtimukha’s
face, and the vajra finial above, achieved through delicate carving.
Moreover, the kirtimukha’s face and limbs are delightfully embellished
with carnelian, rubies, and gold. Furthermore, the back of the brooch
is highly elaborate: the lower section fashioned with fine gold filigree
work, and the upper section with two horizontal buckles. It was in
response to such increasingly lavish articles that the 13th Dalai Lama,
Thubten Gyatso (r.1879-1933), imposed a sumptuary law limiting the
expense of any one item of jewelry to 25,000 rupees.

The present lot compares favorably with another ‘mooneater’ on the
front cover of the Ghysels Collection catalog (Geoffroy-Schneiter,
Bijoux des toits du monde, Geneva, 2012), as well as those in other
esteemed collections of Tibetan jewelry, such as the Barbara and
David Kipper Collection (Ghose (ed.), Vanishing Beauty, Chicago,
2016, p.100, nos.108-10) and the Mengdiexuan Collection (Xu (ed.),
Jewels of Transcendence, Hong Kong, 2018, p.161, no.107).

Provenance
Private American Collection before 2000

6 | BONHAMS