South India silver lingam box container
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 deity, 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 examples in “Traditional jewelry of India” by Oppi Untracht, page133.
This is an original and worn piece, in excellent condition, from the 19th Century.
The size of the pendant is nearly 67 mm wide by 60 mm high. The chain is 70 cm long approx. (27,56 in).
It weights 90 gr.
IND1154
