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Where skulls are the most versatile ritual object made from human remains in Tibetan material religion, ornaments made from bone鈥�rus pa鈥檌 rgyan, often abbreviated to R眉gyen (rus rgyan)鈥攁re the most complex, with a number of elements making a complete set (figures 4.3.1 and 4.3.2). In the Tibetan tradition of Buddhist tantra, these components are most often a crown, earrings, neck or chest ornament, apron or belt, and bands around the upper arms, wrists and ankles.

Figure 4.3.1: Central detail from a painting of the siddha J帽膩natapa wearing ornaments on his head, hips, chest and limbs, from 14th century Khams and now at Metropolitan Museum of Art (1987.144).

Figure 4.3.2: The sprul sku Dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal 鈥榖yor (1910-1991) wearing the ornaments of a Heruka yogin, late 20th century. Photo of unknown origin, shared via social media.

This assembly corresponds to a description based on the Hevajra corpus and repeated by the thirteenth century scholar Grags pa rgyal mtshan describing this ensemble as a set of 尘耻诲谤腻 worn by a practitioner of Heruka yoga and wherein these body ornaments (lus rgyan) are used in the specialized observances of tantric deity yoga.^[1] These ornaments may also include a wig or top-knot which can facilitate the appearance of a non-monastic yogin/墨 (see 4.3.19, below).

Figures 4.3.3 (left) and 4.3.4 (right): Detail of central deities from figs. 2.32 (11th century, Ratnagiri) and 3.4 (13th century, central Tibet) showing a 尘别办丑补濒腻 (Tbt. ska rags) of alternating loops and tassels around the hips; note the bells at the ends of the tassels.

Historical representations of rus rgyan in the visual culture of Buddhist tantra show a changing shape and increasing formal complexity, most notably in the apron or belt (ska rags, Skt. 尘别办丑补濒腻). Early Tibetan images maintain the illustrated convention of Indian Buddhist precedents, with alternating long tassels and loops around the hips (figures 4.3.3 and 4.3.4).^[2]

Figure 4.3.5: A yab yum red-bodied form of the deity 驰补尘腻苍迟补办补 as Rakta Yam膩ri (Tbt. gShin rje gshed dmar) and consort wearing a lattice-shaped apron with multiple registers of beads and plaques hanging from the waist. At the top of the apron, five longer plaques have been ornamented with rdo rje; 15th century, central Tibet and now at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (67.829).

However, the fourteenth century rendering of J帽膩natapa in fig. 4.3.1 shows the ska rags as a short girdle formed from a network of beaded cords with multiple tassels at crossing points, a design repeated in the four bands around the siddha鈥檚 arms. Around the fifteenth century, this lattice was expanded into a longer apron shape which could support more complex ornamentation, including variously sized plaques on which iconographic programs could be cultivated (figure 4.3.5).

Surviving, accessible examples of ska rags is most often square and fixed at the waist; it is occasionally triangular, tapering to a point towards the feet (see figs. 4.3.29 and 4.3.31, below).

Existing aprons preserve the longevity and refinement of charnel ritual methodologies in Tibetan material religion, not only in the use of human bone as a substrate but also through an iconographic emphasis on the deities and assemblies of 尘补丑腻测辞驳补 and yogin墨 tantra. The plaque in fig. 4.3.6 has been carved with a six-pointed 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 unique to the deity 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨鈥攊苍 补谤诲丑补辫补谤测补峁卥补 on a corpse at center鈥攚hich is formed of two crossing triangles in the shape of a six-pointed wheel with one yogin墨 from the assembly of six within each point. This composition is also seen in the thirteenth century thang ka in fig. 4.3.7 and is derived from later, 艣腻办迟颈-centered modes of non-Buddhist yogin墨 tantra.^[3] This fragmentary object was acquired in Khotan in 1896 by the Swedish collector Dr. Sven Hedin; described as ivory by earlier scholars, the depth and detail of the carving and a series of holes along its sides as well as the shape and size of the substrate and its iconography indicate that it was likely worn as a charnel ornament.^[4]

Figure 4.3.6 (left): Bone ornament with a six-pointed 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 of 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨, from the Hedin Collection at the Museum of Ethnography, Stockholm (group no. 1903.11). Image from Montell 1938.

Figure 4.3.7 (right): Six-pointed 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 of 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨 from a central Tibetan bKa鈥� brgyud tradition,13th century, now in a private collection.

However, while images carved on individual plaques often support historical, material and liturgical associations with 尘补丑腻测辞驳补 and (especially) yogin墨 tantra, the replacement, repair, loss or reorganization of carved elements within these aprons means that many objects are a pastiche, complicating their interpretation as a comprehensive iconographic program. An example at the Brooklyn Museum鈥攃ollected from the Himalayas on an expedition funded by the institution in 1923鈥攅xhibits no fewer than four different carving campaigns (figures 4.2.8 and 4.2.9). The central deity is a twelve-armed form of 颁补办谤补蝉补峁僾补谤补 in union with 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨, framed within the top register by an assembly of six yogin墨鈥攆ive are two-armed while the plaque to the right of center is four-armed鈥攁nd ten six-armed standing male figures, including the two flat, trapezoidal plaques at either end. While the figures in this apron are thematically related to the practice of yogin墨 tantra and its ritually-assembled network of 岣嵞乲颈苍墨蝉 and protectors, they do not necessarily correspond to the iconography or 蝉腻诲丑补苍补 of a specific practice or 尘补峁囜笉补濒补.^[5]

At the monastery of Hemis in Ladakh, another apron demonstrates a thematic emphasis on yogin墨 iconography in rus rgyan as well as the re-use or reassembly of individual carved pieces (figure 4.3.10). Here, a central yab yum of 颁补办谤补蝉补峁僾补谤补 and 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨 in the top register (fig. 4.3.13) is accompanied by a two-armed 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨 on a corpse on either side of center as well as four four-armed 岣嵞乲颈苍墨蝉 with their smaller-sized consorts or protectors positioned between them and at least one protector (left of center) with two skeletal figures鈥攍ikely lords of the charnel ground (dur khrod bdag po)鈥攁t the far ends (figs. 4.3.11 and 4.3.12). These plaques are fairly consistent in their color and condition though they exhibit at least three different carving campaigns; the oldest amongst these鈥攖he large plaque at center, for example鈥攎ay date from the fifteenth century or earlier based on its style of rendering, though this estimate cannot be applied to its textile supports or the object in general. This suggests how rus rgyan illustrate continuity in the methods and materials of Buddhist tantra while also accommodating their revision and restoration. Two small nails to the left of center on the central yab yum figure (fig. 4.3.13) are further evidence of repair and preservation for the valued individual carvings.

These two examples of ska rags from the Brooklyn Museum and Hemis monastic collection (figs. 4.3.8 - 4.3.13) also exhibit a variety of supplementary figures and iconographic motifs common to these objects and supporting the primary deities of the top register. These include the eight auspicious signs (bkra shis rtags brgyad), floral and foliage forms, astral bodies, a double vajra, and skeletal faces. Many of these figures are historically Buddhist and not specifically tantric, for example gandharva, or celestial beings, as well as the bodhisattva 础惫补濒辞办颈迟别艣惫补谤补 (fig. 4.3.14) and other non-wrathful buddhas and apotropaic figures such as the sea monster makara, frequently positioned along the bottom and/or on either side of the assembly in the top register of the apron. Carvings and representations of deities are most often featured on on this top register of the ska rags but can also be found on chest ornaments (see fig. 1.1), arm bands, and in the crown as the five buddhas and/or five skeletal faces (see figs. 4.3.2 and 4.3.18, below).^[6]

Figures 4.3.8 (above) and 4.3.9 (left): Apron of human and animal bone with metal bells along the bottom, at the Brooklyn Museum (23.289.27201) with detail of multiple carving campaigns from the upper register, proper left. Note the inconsistencies in rendering of the lotus platforms under each figure in the three large plaques seen here.

Figure 4.3.10: An apron made from human bone in the collection of Hemis Monastery in Ladakh and on display in its museum; with central 12-armed Cakrasamvara and 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨, framed and supplemented by yogin墨 assembly and Buddhist iconography, with bells and yarn tassels along the bottom. Images by Christian Luczanits.

Figures 4.3.11-4.3.13: The top register of yogin墨 deities and central plaque with 颁补办谤补蝉补峁僾补谤补 and 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨 in yab yum (left) from the apron in fig. 4.3.10.鈥擨mages by Christian Luczanits.

By embodying the form of Heruka through deity yoga and the use of rus rgyan, practitioners are able to perform a variety of liturgical roles and functions, including various types of 鈥�chams or masked religious dance (fig. 4.3.15, see also figs. 4.3.26 and 4.3.27).^[7] Rus rgyan are also worn by the principal ritual actor during major practice sessions (sgrub chen) or public empowerments (dbang chen; see figure 4.3.16). Moreover, photographs and portraits of accomplished teachers or lineage holders wearing rus rgyan (i.e. in the form of Heruka) also illustrate their prestige as a visual and material demonstration of ritual skill and religious authority (figures 4.3.17 and 4.3.18). In the fourteenth century example in fig. 4.3.1, this prestige for the ornaments of Heruka yoga are further associated with the historical foundations of 痴补箩谤补测腻苍补 and tantric expertise of the mahasiddha J帽膩natapa. In figs. 4.3.17 and 4.3.18, these cultural historical and social values for R眉gyen (rus rgyan) have been applied to a series of twentieth century votive images and portraits of dGe lugs leaders including the tenth Pan chen bla ma (1938-1989) and sixth Gung thang of La brang monastery in A mdo (d. 2000).^[8]

Figure 4.3.14: Four-armed sPyan ras gzigs (础惫补濒辞办颈迟别艣惫补谤补) in a British Museum apron (2003, 0929.1) in the second register of plaques at center, August 2017. The primary figures on this object are otherwise yogin墨 deities.

Figure 4.3.15: Bone ornaments worn on the chest, arms and lower body of a chos skyong as part of masked dance (鈥�chams) in Khams. Image from a local source, November 2017.

Figure 4.3.16: Dil mgo mkhyen brtse bkra shis dpal 鈥榖yor (see also fig. 4.3.2) wearing rus rgyan on his chest while performing deity yoga and acting as the ritual leader during a major practice session (sgrub chen). Image courtesy the Tibet Museum Archives, Dharamsala.

Figure 4.3.17: Two small-sized votive photographs of dGe lugs leaders and sprul sku (emanation bodies) wearing the six ornaments of a Heruka yogin, purchased at a pilgrimage site in A mdo, December 2017. These images might be placed on home altars, given as offerings or shared as gifts for individual use.

Figure 4.3.18: Self-portrait of the tenth De mo sprul sku (d.1973) in the ornaments of a Heruka yogin, printed from negatives preserved by his son and first published in Photographers International (Taiwan), August 1998.

Figure 4.3.19: The current (twelfth) rGyal dbang 鈥�brug pa (b.1963) wearing the bone ornaments of 狈腻谤辞辫补 at Hemis in 2016, photographer unknown.

However, not all bone ornaments are used with the same regularity and while one set may be worn in an annual 鈥�chams performance, another may be used only periodically: The six ornaments of 狈腻谤辞辫补 (na ro rgyan 鈥榙rug tshogs pa), for example, are worn once every twelve years for an empowerment administered by the rGyal dbang 鈥榖rug pa, leader of the 鈥楤rug pa bKa鈥� brgyud lineage (figure 4.3.19). According to sources within this community, these rus rgyan were gifted to the second rGyal dbang 鈥榖rug pa in the fifteenth century, having been acquired from 狈腻谤辞辫补 by his eleventh century Tibetan student Mar pa whose translations of Indian Buddhist tantra would be cultivated in various bKa鈥� brgyud lineages and teachings.^[9] These ornaments are valued as an indication of the longevity of this religious community and the continuity of its lineages with its tantric sources, as well as an accumulation of merit and potency which has been acquired through use by previous 鈥楤rug pa bKa鈥� brgyud religious authorities. The prestige of these charnel ornaments is demonstrated through its restricted use as well as the inclusion of precious or costly supplementary materials including pearls and turquoise.

Like skulls (see previous section) the use of these ornaments for specific ritual performances may also be related to the relative value of their materials, with those made from human remains used more selectively than those from alternative substrates.^[10] Animal bone and plastic are used frequently in rus rgyan constructed after the early twentieth century, a technical innovation resulting from the restricted circulation of human bone as well as the valorization of these objects as cultural properties (figures 4.3.20-4.3.22; see also section 4.1). The use of animal bone in combination with the integration of motorized tools鈥攊苍 fig. 4.3.23, by a fabricator who specializes in shell and bone presently working in the Kathmandu valley鈥攈as generated designs for rus rgyan with shallow, less volumetric carvings and more emphasis on piercing. The use of larger animal bones as a substrate (e.g. flatter, longer, potentially greater than eight centimeters in width) also facilitates an expansion of the scale on which a carver might work, as in the chest ornament in fig. 4.3.22, with similar examples in fig. 4.3.15 and on the apron in fig. 4.3.18.^[11]

Complex sets of bone ornaments with developed iconographic programs which may be used in the performance of public rituals are more often associated with the material resources of monastic institutions, within which they are handled by specialists.^[12] Individual tantric practitioners have also been known to wear and fabricate simplified rus rgyan.^[13] The color of a simple ornament for sale on consignment in Khams in a shop which serves the community of local practitioners may be related to the diet of the donor, the methods of its fabrication, storage conditions, age or its unique setting for ritual use (figure 4.3.24). However, the density, shape and size of this single ornament鈥攁s well as the caution of the local vendor-practitioner in sharing it after removing it from hidden storage鈥攕uggest that it is human, though the shallow, simplified carving exhibits less material and technical investment than other examples given above (e.g. fig. 4.3.13).

Figures 4.3.20 and 4.3.21: This object is a pastiche of plaques and beads attached to a silk-fabric support and purchased by National Museums Liverpool (1973.81) from an auction house. The largest figure is a two-armed form of Heruka with yogin墨 consort on human bone; the detail (right) indicates the depth of carving possible on human bone, as well as its characteristic density, opacity, polish and morphology as a substrate.

Figure 4.3.22: Detail of a chest ornament in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum (IS.1:5.2007) made by laterally adhering two flat sections of animal bone, each approximately 6 cm wide and 12 cm long, with shallow relief carvings and piercing; donated as part of a full set of rus rgyan in 1932 by a former escort at the British trade agency in Gyantse (rGyal rtse), March 2017.

Figure 4.3.23: A Newar carver making a buffalo bone knife sheath using electric hand-tools, June 2018.

Figure 4.3.24: Simplified human bone ornament for sale in Khams, November 2017.

Carved plaques and ornaments are supported by a variety of supplemental materials, including textiles, cords, and tassels in cotton, silk and hemp, metal bells and bangles, and occasionally red lac or paint.^[14] An apron at the British Museum鈥攄onated by a collector in 1930鈥攊苍corporates a diversity of these materials including a backing cloth of combined silk sections with glass beads, tassels and small bells along the bottom, and a line of tapered beads colored red with lac in the second, third and fifth registers (figure 4.3.25).15 These refinements may be related to the specific ritual function of the apron or its setting: The dark background and wrathful visage of a supporting textile in an apron used for zhva nag 鈥榗hams or to embody a protector (chos skyong) (figs. 4.3.26 and 4.3.27, see also fig. 4.2.33) is not necessarily used for the performance of 岣嵞乲颈苍墨 鈥�chams, with its characteristic screen-like mask (fig. 4.3.27).

Figure 4.3.25: This apron was donated to the British Museum by a collector in the early twentieth century (1930,0306.1) and exhibits a wide variety of materials including human and/or animal bone, silk, glass beads, tassels and bells, August 2017.

Figure 4.3.26: Bone apron attached to a dark-colored backing cloth with the painted face of a protector, used in 鈥�chams, photographed in storage of the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena (acc. no. unknown), January 2013.

Supports, ornaments and supplementary materials may also be related to regional material religious traditions and other speculative modes of ritual engagement, as in two sets of bone ornaments with a helmet-shaped textile crown and triangular apron (figures 4.3.28 - 4.3.31). There is evidence of pastiche in each鈥攆or example in the top register in fig. 4.3.31 where the plaques are inconsistent in size, content and rendering鈥攖hough there is a thematic iconographic emphasis on Buddhist yogin墨 tantra. Both of these sets鈥攏ow in UK collections, acquired in the early twentieth century鈥攆eature glass beads and 谤耻诲谤腻办峁�a seeds, which are grown on species of the tree Elaeocarpus native to the southern Himalayas and south Asia.^[15] On the crown or head piece of each set, there is a cuprous metal peak attached at the top, as well as a tuft of hair and beaded loops across the face. In fig. 4.3.30, the relatively consistent series of carved plaques on the crown feature five seated buddhas with a skeletal face under each.

Figure 4.3.27: Performers on the right are wearing bone ornaments and the geometric, flat cut-away masks used for 岣嵞乲颈苍墨 鈥�chams, here in front of the Potala in Lhasa, date unknown. Image courtesy the Tibet Museum Archives, Dharamsala.

Figures 4.3.28 and 4.3.29: Helmet-shaped crown and triangular apron with yogin墨 iconography, pink-colored sindur deposits and textile supports, presently in the collection of the University of Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (1947.762 A and B).鈥擨mages by Lauren Burleson.

More remarkable, however, is that the plaques and deity images in each of these sets also exhibit accumulations of sindur (Tbt. li khri), powdered pigment used both historically and at present in the material religion of the southern Himalayas and India鈥攁s well as in Newar Buddhist communities鈥攁nd which is deposited on surfaces as a devotional gesture.^[16] This powder鈥攐ften red, pink, orange or yellow鈥攊s moreover valued in Tibetan material religion as one of the eight auspicious materials (bkra shis rdzas brgyad).^[17] These accumulations have been observed on another Wellcome acquisition, a damaged apron from Nepal now in the collection of the Fowler Museum at UCLA (figure 4.3.32). The condition of these objects suggests a possible origin or use outside Tibetan monastic institutions鈥攚here a clean, white surface for rus rgyan is especially valued鈥攁nd the triangular shape is distinct from the square examples more commonly illustrated in images of Tibetan 鈥�chams and visual culture, as above.^[18] In addition to the surface discolorations and detachment or breakage of cords seen here in fig. 4.3.33, damage to individual plaques and evidence of re-drilling and re-stringing are common condition issues for rus rgyan, with this set absent of large figural carvings in the top register, suggesting a local variation or that they have been removed and/or re-integrated into another object.

Figure 4.3.30 and 4.3.31: Crown and apron similar in shape to figs. 4.3.28 and 4.3.29, presently in the Wellcome Collection (A161208 and A161210), photographed in storage with the National Science Museum, February 2017.

Figures 4.3.32 and 4.3.33: Detail (left) of an orange-colored sindur deposit on a small plaque of a damaged apron (right) from Nepal, originally part of the Wellcome Collection but later gifted to the Fowler Museum at UCLA (X69.300 A); blue tape indicates where cords are broken. Images from Fuentes 2014.

This section has described the range of materials, forms and applications for R眉gyen (rus rgyan) in Tibetan and 痴补箩谤补测腻苍补 ritual methodologies, and related these observations to the cultural historical narratives and liturgical modes explored in the earlier chapters of this dissertation, particularly those derived from the charnel ascetic modes of Buddhist yogin墨 tantra and its iconography. Here, the continued use and innovation of bone ornaments has been tied to the diverse settings and functions for Heruka deity yoga, the performance of public rituals of subjugation and empowerment, representations of religious authority, and the relative social and economic value for human remains in Tibetan material culture and global museum collections.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Grags pa rgyal mtshan, 鈥淗e ru ka鈥檌 chas drug鈥�, 266. See chapter 2 on the historical innovation of charnel ornaments and the pa帽ca尘耻诲谤腻 within sources for Buddhist tantra.

[2]:

See eleventh to early thirteenth century examples of this loop-and-tassel style of 尘别办丑补濒腻 in figs. 2.1 (Tilopa and 狈腻谤辞辫补 at Alchi Chos 鈥榢hor), 2.5 (central deities of a twelfth century yogin墨 尘补峁囜笉补濒补), 2.33 and 2.35 (two-armed Heruka at Ratnagiri and 狈腻濒补苍诲腻), 2.38 (12-armed 厂补峁僾补谤补 from Bengal) as well as thirteenth to fifteenth century images of 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨 and Ma gcig Lab sgron in chapter 3.

[3]:

Alexis Sanderson explores the significance of this tripartite symmetry to the eleventh century Trika Kaula whose materials and practices were re-contextualized in the 痴补箩谤补测腻苍补 tradition of 痴补箩谤补惫腻谤腻丑墨; idem., 鈥�Saivism and the tantric traditions,鈥� 140ff. The geometry of this six-pointed 尘补峁囜笉补濒补 is implied but not explicitly described in no. 217 of the 厂腻诲丑补苍补尘腻濒腻, c.f. De Mallmann, Introduction 脿 l鈥檌conographie du t芒ntrisme bouddhique, 76. See also Stoddard, 鈥淒ynamic structures in Buddhist mandalas鈥�, figs. 28-30.

[4]:

My thanks to H氓kan Wahlquist at the Sven Hedin Foundation for helping me track this object down and referring me to essential sources on its history. The resemblance of this fragment to other tantric Buddhist bone ornaments is noted in G枚sta Montell, 鈥淪ven Hedin鈥檚 archaeological collections from Khotan, part II鈥� Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities 10 (1938), 83-100. Fig. 4.3.6 is taken from this article, pl. III, no. 6.

[5]:

One monastic scholar and holder of various tantric lineages observed that the specific iconography on an apron is less important than its effective ritual activation by a skilled practitioner; the object is meant to facilitate the embodiment of the deity through yoga, not visual content or analogy; Sikkim, August 2018.

[6]:

See chapter 2 on the five-skull crown as a 尘耻诲谤腻 and iconographic feature of Buddhist yogin墨 tantra.

[7]:

See the section 4.2 in this chapter, as well as chapter 2. See Cantwell and Mayer, 鈥淩epresentations of Padmasambhava鈥�, 28ff on the cultivation of rNying ma narratives relating Guru Rinpoche to the formalization and expansion of 尘补丑腻测辞驳补 tantra in the Tibetan cultural region, the performance of Heruka deity yoga and 鈥�chams as ritual subjugation.

[8]:

On the image of Demo Rinpoche here, see also Clare E. Harris, Photography and Tibet (London: Reaktion Books, 2016), 136-138 and Delphine Gao, 鈥淭he eye of the living Buddha, the first photographer of Tibet: Lopsang Jampal Loodjor Tenzin Gyatso Demo,鈥� Photographers International 39 (1998): 16-89.

[9]:

Loseries-Leick gives a description of this public empowerment based on her observations of the current (twelfth) rGyal dbang 鈥榖rug pa in 1992 (seen in fig. 4.3.19) and cites a text distributed by Hemis at the event titled 鈥渄Pal rgyal dbang 鈥榖rug pa na rim gyi rnam thar ngo sprod dad pa鈥檌 sa bon鈥�; op.cit., 126-130.

[10]:

This was observed in practice at performance of zhva nag 鈥榗hams in Khams (December 2017) and also suggested by monastic informants and lay practitioners of various rNying ma and gSar ma lineages in Ladakh, West Bengal and Sikkim (April and July-August 2018) as well as vendors and fabricators in the Kathmandu valley (May-June 2018).

[11]:

These three ornaments moreover show evidence of Chinese or Mongolian workmanship in their style and iconography, Dr. John Clarke, personal communication, 10 January 2019.

[12]:

One non-Buddhist vendor in Kathmandu noted that monastic representatives who commission bone ornaments might have iconographic requirements specific to their lineage or local traditions, or make their own adjustments to the carved elements after they鈥檝e acquired them, June 2018.

[13]:

Tantric yogin and gcod specialist, Kathmandu, July 2018. These objects are rare and/or unidentified in museum collections.

[14]:

Bells, or their sound, are a consistent feature of 尘别办丑补濒腻 in the sources and iconography for Samvara tantra, for example, in the ornaments of the principle deity Heruka in the Laghusamvara (chapter 51, ln. 13), and see figs. 4.3.3 and 4.3.4, above. On the identification of lac dye on rus rgyan, see Fuentes, 鈥淭echnical examination of a bone ornament ensemble鈥�, appendix G.

[15]:

Many thanks to Lauren Burleson鈥攃onservation postgraduate student working with the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology at the University of Cambridge鈥攆or sharing her work with me in documenting and treating these objects. This set (figures 4.3.28 and 4.3.29) was donated by 鈥淟ady Schuster鈥� in 1947; the Wellcome set (figures 4.3.30 and 4.3.31) was likely acquired by Henry Wellcome (d. 1936). See also Lauren Burleson, 鈥淩us rgyan bone ornaments ensemble: Research and analysis鈥� (MA thesis, Durham University, 2020).

[16]:

The identification of this material as sindur is a combined result of its analysis in Fuentes, 鈥淭echnical examination of a bone ornament ensemble鈥�, appendix D; and Burleson鈥檚 findings (via scanning-electron microscopy with energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy [SEM-EDS]) on similar deposits on the Cambridge objects (personal communication, 17 May 2020). In both cases, these accumulations were found to be friable and powdery with no discernible binder present. Material analysis suggests the use of lead oxide pigments鈥攚hich are pink, orange, yellow and/or red鈥攊苍 the sindur, an imitation derived from the historical use of cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). This has been noted as a lead poisoning threat in a number of currently available commercially-produced brands of sindur: c.f. Manthan P. Shah, et al., 鈥淟ead content of sindoor, a Hindu religious powder and cosmetic: New Jersey and India, 2014-2015鈥�, American Journal of Public Health 107, no. 10 (October 2017), 1630-1632. Fuentes, ibid., also records calcium oxide and barium oxide in these deposits, which may have been added to the sindur as fillers or bulking agents.

[17]:

Find these listed in Dorje, 鈥淎 rare series of Tibetan banners,鈥� 176n4.

[18]:

See also Loseries-Leick op.cit., 177. This criteria for whiteness was repeated by Buddhist and non-Buddhist vendors in Kathmandu whose clients included monastic communities in Tibet, Bhutan and elsewhere in Nepal, May and June 2018.