Tibetan Carved Horn Ritual Seed Dispenser

Carved horns such as this were used to dispense seeds during Tibetan monastic offering rituals. The horn was used to hold seeds – typically mustard seeds which grow in the lower reaches of the Himalayas – for offering into a fire as part of purifying and exorcising fire-offering rituals. The horn was shaken to release the seeds into the fire which was typically contained within a prescribed triangular fire-offering brazier, whilst the practitioner recited cleansing and exorcising mantras.

The tip of the horn has been carved as a makara with an elongated snout with a curled tip. Beneath the snout is an aperture which permits the emission of the seeds.

The remainder of the horn is finely carved with a central Garuda figure on top, and a central tortoise on the underside accompanied by a scorpion and several other creatures. The shell of the tortoise is decorated with squared infilled with lantsa script.

Few extant ritual seed horns are carved with lantsa script. A related example in the Guimet Museum in Paris is illustrated in Beguin (1990, p. 164.)

The horn is in excellent condition. It has a glossy, dark patina and a surface that has been worn smooth from ritual use. The blunt end of the horn has been closed with the original wooden plug.