4404

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    Gilded Silver Butterfly Ornament set with Turquoise

    Nepal or Eastern Tibet
    18th-19th century

    height: 5cm. width: 5.3cm, weight: 19.4g

    Available - Enquire

    Provenance

    UK art market

    – scroll down to see further images –

    This fine ornament most probably was meant for the hair, and now re-purposed as a brooch, is of gilded silver set with fifteen large turquoise cabochons. Such an ornament would have been intended for a lady and they were worn by women in Nepal and Tibet.

    The use of butterflies as a motif most probably originates in China where butterflies were used to denote love and conjugal happiness.

    The item is stable, wearable, and in fine condition. The reverse has been fitted with a well-functioning brooch pin mechanism.

    References

    Reynolds, V. et al, From the Sacred Realm: Treasures of Tibetan Art from the Newark Museum, Prestel, 1999.

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