Amulet box / ga'u

Small rectangular ga'u or portable shrine box. The front panel is made of silver and decorated with scrolling foliage. A teardrop shaped turquoise is set above an archway in the centre of the panel, which reveals a tsa- tsa or moulded clay tablet. The panel is mounted on to copper each side has a double loop handle used for the strap. This piece has a white silk floss string attached. The tablet inside the ga'u is painted, the protective Buddhist figure is a Dharmapala, possibly Vajrabhairava.