A BONE MALA WITH TURQUOISE INLAID SILVER GAU


Himalayan Art Resources item no.61692 78 cm (30 3/4 in.) long
|靈骨佛珠配鑲松石銀嘎烏盒Malas are intimate religious articles that a Buddhist turns to daily to steer his or her thoughts towards a spiritual quest. A mala typically has a significant numerological amount of beads, such as 108 here. A mala's beads are made of symbolically potent materials for the type of practice it assists with, in this case polished bone discs typically used for 'wrathful activities' of subduing negative emotional or spiritual obstacles. Within monastic practice, the beads are manipulated to count recitations of a certain mantra, a transformative set of words that achieve beneficial outcomes if recited correctly. Malas have a guru-bead that marks a complete cycle of recitations, and typically also counters that help keep track of the total number of cycles, such as the silver beads around leather straps here.In recent times, malas are sometimes converted to necklaces for lay practioners, fitted with gau or other auspicious pendants. A gau is a talisman carried for protection, such as the handsome silver and turqouise pendant here. As in this case, gaus often contain consecrated material that provides the source of its protection. This converted mala is particularly handsome with neat elements.