Skip to main content
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Silver, brass, copper …
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu)
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Silver, brass, copper …
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century Tibet Autonomous Region Silver, brass, copper and coral; 5 1/4 × 6 3/8 × 1 3/8 in. 2021.8.50a,b Gift of Anne and Long Shung Shih

Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu)

ClassificationsContainers
Date19th to 20th Century
Made AtTibet Autonomous Region, China, Asia
MediumSilver, brass, copper and coral
Dimensions5 1/4 × 6 3/8 × 1 3/8 in. (13.3 × 16.2 × 3.5 cm)
Credit LineGift of Anne and Long Shung Shih
Object number2021.8.50a,b
DescriptionThis object is a Tibetan amulet box, called gau or gawu, which is commonly carried or worn around the neck by Tibetan Buddhists. Gau tend to have glass windows of various sizes through which the central devotional objects can be seen. They usually contain votive figures called tsha-tsha or paintings of Buddhas, other protective deities, lamas, and teachers. In other cases, they instead contain handwritten prayers to address a specific issue of the amulet wearer, sacred cloth, or other artifacts from holy sites. They are often equated to mobile shrines and serve roughly the same function of symbolically protecting the wearer. Pilgrims wear these on long journeys, and people hoping to address a specific issue would usually wear a gau with a prayer prescribed by a lama in it. In many cases they are made of silver and decorated with coral and turquoise. The shape of many of these boxes is that of a single lotus petal which is symbolic of purity.
On View
Not on view
Collections
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Gilt silver alloy, lea…
19th to 20th Century
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Brass, glass and cotto…
19th to 20th Century
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Brass; 4 1/4 × 3 7/8 ×…
19th to 20th Century
Amulet Box (Gau or Gawu), 19th to 20th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Silver alloy, glass an…
19th to 20th Century
Shell Trumpet (Dung Dkar), 18th to 19th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region
Shell, silver, turquo…
18th to 19th Century
Earring, 20th Century
Tibetan culture; Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Silver, coral and turqu…
Tibetan
20th Century
Votive Sculpture (Tsha-tsha), 18th to 19th Century
Tibet Autonomous Region, China
Clay and pi…
18th to 19th Century
Quilt (Nakshi Kantha), early to mid 20th Century
Bengali culture; Bangladesh
Cotton; 29 1/2 ×…
Bengali
early to mid 20th Century
Quilt (Nakshi Kantha), early to mid 20th Century
Bengali culture; Bangladesh
Cotton; 29 1/2 ×…
Bengali
early to mid 20th Century
Quilt (Nakshi Kantha), early to mid 20th Century
Bengali culture; Bangladesh
Cotton; 27 1/2 ×…
Bengali
early to mid 20th Century