Five plaques from a bone apron

Date19th century?

Label TextBeads carved from human leg bones serve as a reminder of the transience of life on earth. This assembly was part of a larger apron that priests wore when enacting tantric ceremonies to drive away evil. Each of the plaques is coated with carvings of sacred figures, some crowned and dancing, others four-armed and wearing a beaked mask. On the central plaque, a "face of glory" is seen as a catlike mask. Smaller plaques that serve as spacers are also incised with a standing figure, a figure in a combative kneeling pose and the last seated with a left foot placed on a lotus seat of "royal ease."

Object number48.25

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Art of the Ancient Americas", July 10, 1999 - May 11, 2003 Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "A Bead Quiz", July 1, 2008 - July 1, 2009,(7/1/2008 - 7/1/2009)

Credit LineEugene Fuller Memorial Collection

Dimensions9 x 12 in. (22.86 x 30.48 cm)

MediumHuman bone