CHAPEAU D'ORACLE DE NECHUNG EN PAPIER-MÂCHÉ, BOIS ET FOURRURE TIBET OU MONGOLIE, XVIIIE/XIXE SIÈCLECHAPEAU D'ORACLE DE NECHUNG EN PAPIER-MÂCHÉ, BOIS ET FOURRURETIBET OU MONGOLIE, XVIIIE/XIXE SIÈCLE Himalayan Art Resources item no. 205016 48.5 cm (19 1/8 in.) highA PAPIER-MÂCHÉ, WOOD AND FUR NECHUNG ORACLE HAT TIBET OR MONGOLIA, 18TH/19TH CENTURY 西藏或蒙古 十八/十九世紀 紙塑木雕飾毛皮乃瓊護法冠This cymbal-shaped hat depicts the wrathful visage of Mahakala emerging from a double tetrahedron teeming with grinning skulls, spotted snakes, and tormented, severed heads. The dome is surmounted by a skull and vajra finial. In Vajrayana Buddhist iconography, riding hats designed with a wide brim were typically worn by worldly protector deities such as Pehar, Dorje Shugden, Dorje Legpa, and Damchen Garwa Nagpo.See other hats with similarly wide, circular brims and tantric motifs, two of which are located in the British Museum (As1906,1226.43 & As1933,0508.57; HAR 33894 & 33895).Provenance:Paul Morse, Himalayan Antiques, Ipswich, USA