Tayo (Bride’s necklace with almond-shaped pendant)
late 19th to early 20th century
A tayo is a Nepalese necklace characterized by a hollow, lozenge-shaped pendant, this one shaded by a sacred multiheaded serpent. A Newari bride’s outfit often includes a tayo that has been passed down for generations. A tayo is also part of the regalia of the Kumari, a young girl in the Kathmandu Valley temporarily considered the living embodiment of the great Hindu goddess. Even sculpted goddesses may be adorned with a tayo for special worship.
Gilded brass with turquoise, coral, rubies, pearl, rock crystal, jade, amethyst, rose quartz, velvet
Eugene Fuller Memorial Collection
33.704