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. The upper part is topped by horns, symbolizing Nandi, Shiva’s bull mount.
From early 20th century.
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.
Provenance: French private collection
Length of the chain: 88 cm
Size of the lingam casket: 7 x 10,5 x 3,5 cm
It weighs 219,6 gr.
For more information about this fascinating pieces, please see my post about silver lingam caskets here
Literature:
“Silver from fetish to fashion”, Nadler, Daniel and Serga, pdn publishing, 2005, 199
“Colliers ethniques d’Afrique d’Asie, d’Océanie et d’Amérique”, Leurquin, Anne, Skira, 2003, p. 236
“Ethnic jewellery and adornment” Daalder, Truus, Ethnic Art Press, 2009, p. 317
“Ethnic jewellery from Africa, Asia and the Pacific Islands”, The pepin Press, 2002, p. 140
“Traditional jewelry of India”, Untracht, Oppi, Harry N. Abrams. Inc publishers, 1997, p. 135
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