Central Asia, Tibet, ca. 19th century CE. A cast copper frame, gilded on its front side. Four heads, evenly spaced, project outward from it - two skulls and two monstrous faces. Between the heads are two hands and two feet, giving the impression of a body just below the surface of the frame. Each head has a low relief, serpentine, flame-like creature that flows into and out of its mouth, filling in the surface with flourishes. The iconography is bordered by two raised rings, one on the interior, and one on the exterior. The monstrous faces have painted black and white eyes, and red pigment - probably made from sindhura powder - coats the lower profile areas of both the skulls and the faces. Size: 10.6" W (26.9 cm)

The ornate, complex iconography of Tibetan religious artwork often relates to Buddhism. The skulls that adorn this frame may look to outside viewers like a disturbing fixation upon the grave – indeed, much of Vajrayana Buddhist iconography focuses on blood, corpses, and bones - but they are actually a deliberate attempt to destroy the karmic hindrances that might bind a soul to this earthly life and prevent it from achieving enlightenment. The faces, meanwhile, may represent Mahakala, the figure known as "Great Black One" or "Great Time." Time is believed to be the destroyer of everything, and is therefore symbolic of death. The round shape of the mirror is symbolic of the cycle of rebirth.

What did this piece look like when it was complete? An intact one held by the American Museum of Natural History (70.2/386) has a cloth backing and a highly polished iron reflective surface. Tibetan mirrors, called "melong," are worn around the neck, or placed in shrines inside of offering bowls, called "thugs-kyi melong," a mirror of the mind, when used for divination.

Provenance: private Salter collection, Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA

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#125683

Light wear to gilding. Nice remaining pigment on the faces and skulls. Expected wear and light surface scratching from age and handling. Very slight bending to form. One of the backing pins is lost.