A RHINOCEROS HORN FIGURE OF VAJRAPANI IN A GILT-COPPER AND SILVER TRAVELLING SHRINE, GAU SINO-TIBETAN, 17TH CENTURY

the silver shrine with a cusp-shaped profile set with a small niche framed by seed pearls and turquoise inlays, set within a fine repoussé gilt-copper border enclosing the bajixiang wreathed by leafy scrolls topped by a lama of the Geluk order seated in dhyanasana, the interior of the niche set with a carved rhinoceros horn Vajrapani tsa tsa, the corpulent destroyers of the obstacles stylised with a purba-shaped lower body, sporting a necklace of snakes and holding a pronged vajra aloft while clutching string of rosary beads in his left hand, supported on a triangular base, all upon a lotus base and framed by a mandorla of cragged rockwork, the back of the shrine opening with a sliding door, the narrow sides set with two pairs of silver loops for securing with a strap

Acquired in Paris between the 1970s and the early 90s.

Travelling shrines, a container with a window in the front in which holy texts, consecrated amulets and substances, auspicious images and small statues were stored, were placed on the Tibetan house altar of every follower's home. They often accompanied monk, officials, artisans and nomads on their travels as a miniature shrine to offer protection and to ward away evil spirits. The importance placed on these shrines is evident in the use of precious materials; the casing is made of silver and the front is embellished with gilt, turquoise and pearls. A shrine of this type, in the Tibet Museum, Tibet, was included in the exhibition Treasures from Snow Mountains. Gems of Tibetan Cultural Relics, Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, 2001, cat. no. 64.

The significance of this shrine is emphasised in the figure of Vajrapani which has been carved from the highly-valued rhinoceros horn. Vajrapani, 'the Holder of the Vajra', is the bodhisattva who represents the power of all the Buddhas. To many Buddhists he represents removal of obstacles and the conquest of negativity through fierce determination, symbolised by the vajra that he holds. Further Buddhist figures carved from rhinoceros horn include a finely modelled seated Guanyin, in the Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, illustrated in Thomas Fok, Connoisseurship of Rhinoceros Horn Carvings in China, Hong Kong, 1999, pl. 77; and a figure of Budai, from the collection of Mary and George Bloch, published in Jan Chapman, The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China, London, 1999, pl. 99.