Tibetan jewelry in this collection comes from three different places, and they are worth keeping apart.
Reduced from something larger
Ghau boxes, thangka pendants, and prayer wheels are all objects that were once bigger. A ghau is a shrine cut down to a locket; a thangka is a wall painting at pendant size; a prayer wheel is a hand-held object on a chain. The form survives the reduction, and the function changes.
Worn against the body
The yak bone and dzi pieces are the second group. These were never anything else — they are made at the size they are worn, carved from bone and deer antler into talismans, guardian figures, and dzi patterns.
Cord and knot
The third group has no stone at all. Red cord, vajra knots, five-colour braids, and the om mani padme hum pieces carry everything in the tying. They are the lightest and the oldest of the three.
Choosing
Decide which of the three you want first — a reduced object, a carved piece, or a cord — because they wear differently and sit differently on the body. How a ghau opens and is worn covers the first group in detail.
