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Forehead ornament
Unknown - Enlarge image
Forehead ornament
- Place of origin:
Nepal (made)
- Date:
18th century-19th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Silver gilt, covered with semi-precious and precious stones
- Museum number:
IM.160-1913
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This silver-gilt forehead plaque is covered with turquoise, coral, lapis lazuli, rubies, sapphires, diamonds, aquamarine, zircon and freshwater pearls. Such forehead ornaments were fitted to large religious images by means of the hooks at each end. The Buddha figures represented in this example - at the centre, the red Amitabha Buddha, flanked by images of blue Buddha Akshobhya - suggest that it may have adorned a crowned image of one of the Five Meditational Buddhas, symbolic embodiments of particular aspects of Buddhahood. Images decorated with forehead plaques may still be seen in some shrines of the Kathmandu Valley today.
