A BRASS ALLOY GAU WITH INCISED AMITAYUS


TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURYHimalayan Art Resources item no.61722 11 cm (4 1/4 in.) high
|西藏 十三/十四世紀 無量壽佛紋銅嘎烏盒A gau is an amulet box used for protection when traveling, typically with consecrated interiors. This example is heavily worn as the result of its extensive age. The cover is finely chased with an elegant figure of Amitayus, appearing in front of a beaded halo and a flaming mandorla. The gau shares the same arched-shape and similar engraved effigies with two examples depicting Jambhala, published in Ghose (ed.), Vanishing Beauty, Chicago, 2016, p.42, fig.8, and Heller, Early Tibetan Art, India, 2008, p.165, no.59. Provenance Mimi Lipton, London, 2017