Silver Lingayat limgam box, South India
Old silver pendant necklace, used as a lingam casket box. These pendants were designed as containers to hold a sacred lingam stone representing the god Shiva.
High-grade silver.
Lingayats are a Hindu group who believe that Shiva is the only diety, rather than the 3 gods revered by other Hindus. They also believed that the sacred presence of Shiva was not simply confined to the temple, but that it could be held in these pendants for a personal connection to the god. You can see similar samples in “Traditional Jewelry of India” by Oppi Untracht, page133.
This is an original and worn piece, in excellent condition, from the 19th Century. It was kept in a European collection for decades.
The size of the pendant is nearly 52 mm wide by 44 mm high. The chain is 76 cm long approx. (29,92 in).
It weighs 60 gr.
Literature: “Traditional Jewelry of India”, Untracht, Oppi, Harry N. Abrams. Inc publishers, 1997
IND1155
