TIBETAN WOMAN WITH COMPLETE JEWELRY
From “Notes on Turquois in the East,” by Berthold Laufer.
By courtesy of the author and Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.
Flowers fashioned from precious stones make most attractive ornaments, and by their variety of coloring can be worn with almost any costume. A celebrated beauty of London society has a number of pansies of different colors, one made of rubies, another of sapphires, still another of emeralds, and so on through the range of colors. In this way she always had a pansy according in color with that of her gown. As bridal gifts these jewel-flowers are most appropriate, more especially when the lady-love bears a “floral name” such as Violet or Rose.
Coral ornaments of all sorts are in great demand in Tibet, and a fine piece of this material will bring about $20 an ounce, and is therefore literally worth its weight in gold. The Venetian traveller, Marco Polo, who visited Tibet in the latter half of the thirteenth century, already noted that coral was in high favor there and that coral necklaces adorned the necks of the women and also those of the idols in their temples. The love of personal adornment is very strong among the Tibetan women, and those in any way well-to-do load themselves with a mass of jewelled ornaments, great pieces of amber, coral and turquoise constituting the principal gem-material. The favor extended to coral, apart from the religious significance of red as symbolical of one of the incarnations of Buddha, may perhaps have an esthetic basis as well, for red or pink affords a pleasant contrast to the dark complexions and hair of the Tibetans.[[607]]
Much more prized, however, than coral is the beautiful blue turquoise, which not only serves for purely ornamental use but is freely employed in the decoration of religious objects, such as the curious “prayer wheels” so indispensable a part of Tibetan ritual.
The talismanic quality of this stone is an important element in its popularity, as it is supposed to bring good fortune and physical well-being to the wearer and to afford protection against contagion. The Tibetans share in the quite general belief that the turquoise will grow pale in sympathy with the present or prospective fortune and health of the person wearing it, and as a loss of color is considered portentous of coming evil, such stones are gotten rid of as soon as possible to be replaced by those of a brighter hue. The dealers who buy up for a trifling sum these discolored turquoises often treat them with a dose of blue dyestuff which superficially restores the color, and it is stated that many of the soldiers of the British expeditionary force to Tibet in 1904 were at first deceived into buying these vamped-up stones, but they soon discovered the deception and were more careful later on. Turquoises are also believed to guard against the Evil Eye, and a quasi-sacred character is lent to some especially fine specimens by setting them in the foreheads of statues of the Buddha or other religious images.[[608]]
The women of Tibet are said to prize most highly as amulets pieces of cloth adorned with turquoise or coral, which they have acquired from the Lamas, who by the imposition of their priestly blessing have endowed these objects with a peculiar sanctity in the eyes of the Tibetan devotees. Another amulet favored in this far-off land is a small metal box of gold, silver, or copper, and encrusted with turquoise. Within are enclosed little scrolls inscribed with mystic characters to conjure evil spirits and thwart their malevolent schemes for the tribulation of mankind.
An ingenious, if rather far-fetched explanation of the supposed power of coral to avert lightning and hail is given by Fortunio Liceti. In his opinion, coral, being of a warm quality, overcomes the coldness of the atmosphere, which produces lightning by the attraction of contraries, and hail by its own quality. This is a specimen of the attempts to find a plausible physiological reason for the powers of gems, the writers never for a moment hesitating to accept the popular beliefs in this respect.[[609]]
“THE LIGHT OF THE EAST”
Mural fresco painting by Albert Herter, in the Hotel St. Francis, San Francisco, California. The crystal ball upheld by the female figure is more highly esteemed in Japan than any other jewel. Note the fine contrast afforded by the black armor of the Japanese warrior to the white arm and pure crystal sphere.
By Courtesy of the Artist and Hotel St. Francis, San Francisco.
Among the Bhots of Landakh in the western part of Tibet, a large piece of amber or agate is often worn by the men suspended from the neck as an amulet. Here as in so many other parts of the world, the amulet is believed to acquire especial efficacy when worn in this way, as it comes in immediate contact with the person of the wearer.[[610]]