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A RITUAL CONCH SHELL Carved ritual conch shells survive as far back as the Pala period, as
NEPAL, CIRCA 16TH/17TH CENTURY evinced by two 11th-12th century examples, one in the Metropolitan
Himalayan Art Resources item no.61700 Museum of Art (1986.501.6), the other in the Philadelphia Museum of
11.5 cm (4 1/4 in.) long Art (2012-106-1). The present work is carved with a rare ithyphallic
form of Vishnu and another form riding Garuda. The conch is an
HK$150,000 - 250,000 attribute of Vishnu, so the subject is especially appropriate, shared by
the Philadelphia Museum example. Stylistic elements of the present
shell, such as the crowns, jewelry, and stocky physiognomy conform
尼泊爾 約十六/十七世紀 法螺 to the Malla period. Compare with a bronze Malla Vishnu sold at
Bonhams, New York, 16 March 2015, lot 3.
Conch shells are often used as trumpets at the start and end of
Hindu and Buddhist rituals. The object is sanctified with imagery and Provenance
blessings, thus the sound passing through it demarcates sacred Collection of Benny Rustenberg, Amsterdam, 1970s
space and time, which a ritual is conducted in. Its blessed sound is
also believed to shield from harmful spirits, and so is also blown at
dusk (cf. Pal, Art of Tibet, Los Angeles, 1990, p.248).
THE PRESENCER COLLECTION OF BUDDHIST ART | 101
