A 'mani' or prayer wheel, a common ritual object used in Tibetan Buddhism: a device made a handle (here a simple wooden stick) supporting a hollow cylindrical drum on a spindle. A small metal weight, attached to one one side of the drum with a cord, allows the wheel to spin with a slight rotation of the wrist. The drum in his case is of hammered metal, with incised patterns of Buddhist auspicious symbols.
Gilt bronze statue of monk with a begging bowl over his shoulder. This is Phra Malai, who achieved extraordinary powers through his accumulated merit and was able to visit numerous hells and heavens and then travel back to report on what he had seen. Phrai Malai has elongated ears and stands on a wooden base wearing a detailed robe.
The small container with lid has a deeply engraved design filled with black enamel. The body has tight, compact, overall decoration of floral motif, with the stupa-shaped gold fitting on the top. Colored glass pieces were inlayed in the fitting.
The small container with lid has a deeply engraved design filled with black enamel. The body has tight, compact, overall decoration of floral motif, with the stupa-shaped gold fitting on the top. Colored glass pieces were inlayed in the fitting.
This painting shows a scene set in a courtyard with high white walls that is open to the sky. Beyond the wall there is flowering vegetation, tall trees and a tower with a balustrade with keyhole shaped openings. There are two clay pots resting on top of the wall and an oriental style carpet hanging over one side. Within this courtyard, there are three women who are looking at two small leopards that wear metal chains and stand in a keyhole shaped opening of the far right wall. The women, grouped together on the far left side, are wearing 19th century Moroccan dress, including richly embroidered, garments, headscarves and shoes. There is bright sunlight streaming into the room which creates shadows on the walls and floor.
This square of fabric illustrates the tie-dye technique, with dots of fabric gathered into a tight bunch and dyed contrasting colors. The bunching threads are still in place.
