ALL OF THE OBJECTS ON THIS PAGE THAT HAVE ALREADY SOLD
This page is here simply because the objects are beautiful and also to show the types of objects the gallery sells from time to time.
TIBETAN TANTRIC HUMAN BONE ORNAMENT SET (Necromancers Bone Apron) (item No: Apron 01)
(Tibetan: rus rgyan)
Origin: Tibet or Nepal
Age: 40 -80 years
Price: £3,700 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
An extremely rare, museum quality, beautifully hand carved, human bone Tantric bone ornament set comprisiong of full apron with cloth backing, two arm bands, two ankle bands, and hat.
Items like this come onto the market extremly infrequently, as the exporting of them from Nepal or Tibet is now prohibited. There are now some recently made copies of them on the market made in sweatshops in China, but this one came from a collector of ritual objects in the West together with other human bone ritual objects bought at the time and is therefore a real ritual object - not a copy.
Ornaments sets like this are worn in ceremonies by high ranking tantric lamas, ritual dancers and some tantric shamans.
The set is in good condition and is quite soundly strung. It is a wearable set, and could be put to use in the correct manner.
Although single carved bones from broken sets come on to the market from time to time - generally reaching prices between £500 and £1000 each - it is very rare indeed to find a complete set in such good usable condition.
The set is suitable for use by tantric practioners and Ngakpas etc., or could be displayed. It is probably a once in a life time change to obtain such a set.
A seperate page devoted to this set - with a wide range of photos can be found HERE
HUMAN SKULL OFFERING BOWL (item No: Kapala 01)
(Sanskrit: kapala, Tibetan: thod-pa or thod-phor) Origin: Tibet or Nepal
Age: 50 -150 years
Length: 175mm (6.9 inches) approx
Width: 130mm (5.2 inches) approx
Price: £195 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
A ritual offering bowl made from the top of a human skull.
Kapal are used in tantric ceremonies in both Buddhist and Hindu traditions, and in some Himalayan shamanic traditions also. They are used in ceremonies to symbolically transform base offerings to nectar - the food of the gods.
They are also used to hold dough offering cakes (torma) representing human flesh, and (or) wine, which represents human blood. These are symbolic offering to wrathful beings such as Mahakala. The dough cakes are often shaped and painted to resemble human eyes, ears and tongues, and can at times contain human blood or corpse fat or posion, but generally are just made from plain barley flour dough.
Kapala are often shown in the hands of wrathful beings and female beings called dakini - often filled with foaming and frothing blood. They represent the female atribute found in tantric teachings, as does the tibetan bell - and like the bell they are held in the left hand. They are 'married' with the 'male' flaying knife (Sanskrit: kartrika, Tibetan: trigu), in the same way as the 'female' bell is matched with the 'male' dorje.
A rare object to make offerings with on your altar, it would perhaps be disrespectful to use it for display unless in a museum or educational setting.
TIBETAN TANTRIC HUMAN BONE ORNAMENT (Necromancers Bone Apron) (item No: Apron 01)
(Tibetan: rus rgyan)
Origin: Tibet
Age: 250 -200 years
Length of longest carving: 140mm (5.5 inches) approx
Width of longest carving: 34mm (1.35 inches) approx
Carving with birds: 39mm (1.6 inches) square approx
Price: £1275 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
An extremely rare, museum quality, hand carved, human bone chest decoration from a set of human bone tantric ornaments. The set would have originally included a bone crown, earrings, armbands, apron and other itmes which have been lost or seperated over time.
Items like this come onto the market extremly infrequently. This one is believed to date from between 1790 and 1820 and was obtained from an antiques dealer in Manchester in the UK who bought it from a family with connections to Clive of India. It is original, used and authentic.
Ornaments like this are worn in ceremonies by high ranking tantric lamas, ritual dancers and some shamans.
The set is in good condition and is quite soundly strung, although during it's more recent life one of the strings on the right hand side as you look at it has broken and been re-strung incorrectly with a number of beads left out of the stringing (compaire the two lower strings in the second photo above - the lefthand side as you look at it is correct). The plastic bag in the photo contains the missing beads and it would be easy to restore this with new thread. Nicholas is willing to do this free of charge if required.
All the beads are bone except for three small ones which are either quartz/rock crystal or clear glass, and one that I can not identify but might be stained ivory, another form of bone or fine grained light coloured wood. These four beads are all on the end of the strings containing the bird beads, two on each side.
Although single carved bones from broken sets come on to the market from time to time - generally reaching prices between £500 and £1000 each - it is very rare indeed to find a complete set in such good usable condition.
The set is suitable for use by tantric practioners and Ngakpas etc., or could be displayed.
ANTIQUE CHINESE 'SEVEN-STARS' JIAN SWORD (Item No. Sword 01)
Origin: Zhejiang Province - Eastern China
Age: 225 - 275 years approx
Length: 578mm (22.75 inches) approx
Price: £225 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
This is beautiful example of a rare seven-stars Longquan sword.
It is called a 'seven-stars' sword because it has seven brass dots set into the blade on both sides as decoration - these represent the seven stars known as 'The Plough' in Europe,and as the 'Big Dipper' in America - the stars are part of the Great Bear constellation.
The sword is in good condition, the blade still has a keen edge. The handle is bound with wire (probably copper) over a wooden base, and the sword guard is secure although is lacking the original packing underneath which held it static. This could easily be replaced with wood or even cloth wadding
Real Longquan swords are very sought after, and the star decoration on the blade makes this a desirable example. A suitable sword for martial arts practice or for ritual use or even simply display.
SHAMANS OR LAMAS RITUAL ARROW (Wealth Attracting or Divining Arrow) (Item No. arrow 001)
Origin: Origin: Southern Siberia, Buryatiya or Northern Mongolia
Age: 90 - 20 years approx
Length: 620mm (24.3 inches) approx
Mirror diameter: 43mm (1.75 inches) approx
Price: £135 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
A large magical arrow complete with shamans mirror (toli), a brocade bag with what feels like an animal tooth and rice inside (I have not opend the bag to check), and peices of silk.
Magical arrows are used in many shamanic cultures around the world, and this is very much the case in both Mongolia and Tibet. In Tibetan Buddhism Silk Arrows (Tib: Mda-dar) are arrows with either one or several silk scarfs tied to them which are used for divination, attracting wealth and many other types of white and black magic.
Wealth attracting arrows (Tib: Nor sGrub Mda-dar) are used to 'hunt' wealth (or other things one wishes to gain) with focused intent, and are normally painted red. This arrow is painted red above the feathers so it is almost certainly a wealth arrow.
A small simple brass shaman's mirror (toli) is tied to the arrow, together with several peices of silk and other material. The head of the arrow is hand made of iron, and is probably far older than the rest of the arrow. The flight feathers are from a large bird which might be vulture as this is a traditional feather to use.
The arrow is in good condition, although the flight feathers have seen better days. It could be displayed, put onto an altar or used if you felt it was appropriate.
CLOISONNE ALTAR INCENSE POT (Item No. Incense Pot 01)
Origin: Tibet or China
Age: 120 - 70 years approx
Height: 127mm (5 inches) approx
Diameter: 108mm (4.25 inches) approx
Price: £110 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
Beautiful cloisonne altar incense burner. Designed for Tibetan stick incense rather than loose 'smudge', the sticks are normally placed in sand or ash held within the pot.
A delightful and very special sacred object for your altar or collection.
TANTRIC SHAMAN'S OR LAMA'S HUMAN SKULL DAMARU DRUM (Item No. Damaru 001)
Origin: Tibet or Northern Nepal
Age: 120 - 30 years approx
Diameter: 132mm (5.2 inches approx) (at widest part)
Overall Length: 850mm (33.5 inches approx)
Tibetan double sided 'damaru' drum made of two human skulls (Kapalika Damaru), covered with beautifully embossed silver and set with red coral and turquoise. The coral and turquoise looks to be real or faux of high standard, but without removing it from the silver it is hard to be 100% certain.
Such drums are used especially in tantric rituals by lamas and shamans. This damaru is complete with its traditional brocade cloth tail which is newer than the drum and is obviously a more recent replacement - being perhaps 20 years old or so.
The two human skulls will be from a pubescent boy and girl, representing the tantric union, of male and female, emptiness and form, wisdom and compassion.
The drum has a good sound, is good condition and is very playable. The skins are fixed securely and in a dry atmosphere they will be tight and give a good bright sound.
A very rare form of drum that is ideal for use or could be displayed.
SIBERIAN SHAMAN'S MIRROR (Item No. Toli 001)
Origin: Manchuria, China or Siberia
Age: 2000 - 1500 years approx
Diameter: 96mm (3.75 inches) approx
This nice, large and very ancient toli (Shaman's Mirror) is around 2000 years and is one of the most prized mirrors due to its age.
Its condition is fairly good, with some corrosion but still quite a trace of its ancient polished surface.
LARGE CLOISONNE BRONZE GREEN TARA
Origin: Tibet or Western China
Age: 220 - 180 years approx
Height: 540mm (21.6 inches) approx
Width: 520mm (20.8 inches) approx
Depth: 350mm (14 inches) approx
A stunningly beautiful, large, very rare original 19th century cloisonne statue of the ever popular Tibetan Buddhist Goddess Green Tara The Statue is very finally made and would have been originally have been housed in a monastery or a noble or even possibly royal families palace, as such a fine statue would have been a very valuable item, taking a long time to make.
Green Tara is shown as a 16 year old girl in the power of young womanhood, seated in her normal posture with her left leg extended in the act of standing up to rush to the aid of all who call upon her.
Green Tara herself, and this statue radiate peace and beauty, and the size combined with the cloisonne floral decoration on this statue make it a unique item.
A truly beautiful historic sacred object that would sit well on a domestic or shrine room altar or it could simply be bought as a spectacular work of sacred art.
RITUAL TIBETAN BUDDHIST LONG LIFE VASE (Item No. Vase 001)
Origin: Tibet (Sanskrit: Jinvana-kalasha Tib: Tshe-bum)
Age: 40 - 20 years approx
Height: 170mm (6.7 inches) approx
Beautiful gild and silver long life vase which is used in Tibetan longevity rituals associated with either Amitayus. White Tara or Ushnivijaya, the Tibetan Buddhist beings associated with long life practice. The shamanic tantric Buddha Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche) is also generally shown holding a long life vase in a skull cup (Kapala)
During the rituals the vase is symbolically filled to the top with the nectar of immortality which can either be empowered water or barley beer Tib: Chang).
The stopped at the top of the vase is separate and has a small representation of Amitayus holding a long life vase.
The vase is in very good condition, being fairly recently made (less than twenty years) and is a beautiful. It is gilt and silver and set with faux red coral and turquoise. A very special object for your altar.
TIBETAN COPPER AND SILVER DOCTORS HERB CONTAINER (Item No. Container 01)
Origin: Tibet
Age: 50 - 150 years approx
Height: 295 mm (11.5 inches) approx
Diameter: 120 mm (4.75 inches) approx
Price: £125 (including postage in UK)
(Postage to Europe - additional £10)
(Postage Outside of Europe - additional £20) - SOLD
A very rare, beautifully handmade, embossed copper and silver Tibetan apothecaries herb container, ideal for keeping incense or smudging herbs in.
The body of the container is made from copper, set with silver decoration including dragons, mara (sea monsters) and bands of decorative pattern. The container has two handles in the form of wrathful beings such as Mahakala, the well made ring handles are suspended from the chins of each of the beings. The top of the container has a snow lion on top of it.
the container is in very good condition, and it quite suitable for use or display. Apothecaries herb pots like this are extreamly rare.
COPPER OR BRONZE PHURBA - RITUAL TIBETAN BUDDHIST OR SHAMANS DAGGER (Item No. phurba 003)
Origin: Tibet
Age: late 250 - 100 years approx
Length: 450mm (17.75 inches) approx
A Beautifully cast, very splendid example of a large, heavy, solid, high grade ceremonial Tibetan bronze or copper ritual dagger. The detail on it is crisp and very well executed. The phurba is in excellent condition.
Phurbas are made of a variety of materials, such as wood, iron, silver and copper, and used by Buddhist lamas and shamans throughout Nepal and Tibet for healing, protection against harm and the killing of demons - both internal and external ones. A very powerful and unique ritual item.
This phurba has a vajra (dorje) centre part with beautifully cast eagle claws and a horses head on the top representing Hayagriva, a Tibetan wrathful spirit, also known as 'Horse Neck', who's scream is said to shatter the illusions we have about reality and dissolve all the worlds together.
For more information about phurbas read the article about them on the articles page of this website.
TIBETAN BUDDHIST DRILBU AND DORJE (BELL AND THUNDERBOLT) SET
(Sanskrit: Ghanta and Vajra - Tibetan: Drilbu and Dorje)
Origin: Mongolia
Age: 300 - 100 years approx
Bell Height:140mm (5.5 inches approx)
Bell Diameter: 73mm (2.9 inches approx)
Dorje Length: 92mm (3.7 inches approx)
A very old, finely cast, matching Drilbu and Dorje set. This Tibetan Buddhist ritual set from Mongolia is quite delightful. Both parts of the set are very well cast and it is rare to find an old set that is complete rather than 'a bell from here and a dorje from there'. The tone of the bell is clear with a long sustain, and both the bell and the dorje show the sort wear created by thousands of hours of human hands holding them and using them in ritual practice. If I was being new-age about them I would say the set emanates a sense of love.
A very rare item that would be a delight for anyone who wishes to use them in their practice.
For more information about bells and dorjes please read the article about the ritual objects of Tibetan Tantra on the articles page of this website.
BUDDHIST SHAMAN'S MIRROR
Origin: Mongolia
Age: 17th -19th Century
Diameter: 53mm (2 inches) approx
Price: £95 (including postage worldwide) - SOLD
This very rare, beautifully decorated melong (Buddhist Mirror) from Mongolia would have been used by a shaman or a lama in healing and other protective rituals. It is made of brass and decorated with the knot of eternity, a symbol found both in Tibetan Buddhism and Mongolian shamanism.
Around the outside of the mirror are the twelve animals of the horoscope and inside of these the Buddhist symbol of the two golden fish which are a symbol of fertility, and also signify fearlessness and happiness, as the fish swim freely through the oceans (of life, death and rebirth) without drowning, enhancing the mirrors protective qualities.
The mirror is in good condition, showing normal wear and evidence of having been being polished during its long life. Their is part of an old silk fabric offering scarf tied to its back.
