TIBET, 13TH/14TH CENTURY

This plaque would have been a part of a five-leaf crown, relating to the five families of deities, with Vairocana forming the central leaf. Crowns of this type would be worn by lamas "in exorcising ceremonies or in funeral rites, or even in the baptism of an initiate." see G. Tucci, The Temples of Western Tibet and their Artistic Symbolism, 1988, p. 80; compare with two carved plaques at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, see P. Pal, Art in Tibet, 1983, cat. no. R2, ill. p. 241.