19C~RARE~Tibet~Vajrayana GAU~Reliquary w/old tsa-tsa~NR

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19C~RARE~Tibet~Vajrayana GAU~Reliquary w/old tsa-tsa~NR

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Sold Date: 08/06/2007
Channel: Online Auction
Source: eBay
Category: Ethnic, Folk & Native American Art

This is an old and unusual Tibetan Buddhist gau, or reliquary, hand-crafted of cast bronze and copper, with repousee design featuring, The Four Harmonious Friends (see explanation below): The elephant, monkey, rabbit and bird (partridge). The metalwork is high quality, with good detail and is nicely finished. Although t is some surface wear and a well-developed patina commensurate with age and use, much of the original detail is still apparent, and overall condition is quite good with no losses, damage or repairs. Encased within the gau is a very old clay tsa-tsa, or votive figure, of Shakyamuni Buddha in a rare form - holding a vajra rather than the traditional begging bowl. I estimate the gau to be at least 100 years old and the tsa-tsa appreciably older, possibly by another 100+ years. The leather strap was added sometime within the last 20-30 years or so. Origin is Tibet, or possibly Bhutan.
Diameter = approximately 2-1/4 inches
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's an explanation of The Four Harmonious Friends that I took off the internet:
The story of the four friends was an account Lord Buddha narrated to his
disciples. The story goes thus: Once in a forest in Varanasi, four animals,
an elephant, a rabbit, a monkey, and a bird (partridge) disputed about the
ownership of a tree w all of them happened to come to feed on. The
elephant claimed it was his because he saw it first.
The monkey said that it was his because he had been feeding on the fruits of
the tree. The rabbit claimed that he had been feeding on the leaves of the
tree when it was a small sapling. The partridge who had been watching the
argument said that the tree belonged to it because the tree wouldn't have
grown if it had not spit out the seed from fruit it had eaten.
The elephant, monkey, and rabbit, all then bowed to the partridge and
regarded it as their bigger brother. The four animals became friends and
decided to share the tree together in peaceful harmony enjoying the beauty
of the tree's fragrance, the nourishment of the tree's fruits, and the
bounty of the tree's shade.
Other animals in the forest often saw them together with the partridge on
top of the rabbit who was held up by the monkey who rode on top of the
elephant.
Henceforth, they were called "the four harmonious brothers". The four
animals were looked upon as an example and peace regained in the forest.
According to another account, In one of the Buddha's previous lifetimes, in
the forest of Kashika, t lived four noble beings - a bird, a monkey, a
rabbit, and an elephant. The four, who drank at the same spring, soon became
friends. One day they decided that it would be proper to show the greatest
respect for the eldest among them. To determine their respective ages, each
one recalled the height of a nearby banyan tree when he had first seen it.
The four then showed each other respect accordingly. The elephant placed the
bird on the crown of his head, the rabbit on his neck, and the monkey on his
back.
Then the bird said, "Now we must keep the five basic disciplines throughout
our lives."
This they did, and to ensure that all other beings did the same, the bird
initiated all those with wings, the elephant initiated all those with fangs,
the rabbit initiated all those with paws, and the monkey initiated all those
with fur. Thus, these animals are depicted in Buddhist art as a portrait of
harmony.
T are about five different version of the story, but according to Dasho
Lam Sanga, they all had the same moral- respect to elders, love and
affection to live harmoniously. "None of the animals were primarily
concerned with themselves,"
he said. "Each of the animals was concerned with trying to help the others
rather than being dominated by selfish concern."