TWO BONE MALAS WITH THOGCHAK


Himalayan Art Resources item nos.61690 & 61691 82 cm (32 1/4 in.), the larger
|靈骨佛珠兩串配托甲牌Both malas comprised of 108 bone beads. One with agate and bone guru beads and a copper alloy pendant khying thogchak. The other with two wooden marker beads and and a copper alloy Acala thogchak.Thogchaks are found objects, treasured by Tibetans for their talismanic powers, always metal and usually of great age and wear. Originally they may have served as fastenings for chests or belts. Heller has written extensively on the subject, drawing on examples with similar motifs. See Reynolds (ed.), From the Sacred Realm, New York, 1999, pp.60 & 79, pl.35; and Heller, Early Himalayan Art, New Delhi, 2008, pp.112-3 & 130, nos.34 and 43.