Decorative Pendant
Not on view
Silk textiles played important roles in the culture of the early Ming dynasty, both in religious practices and as formal gifts to Tibetan Buddhist clerics and other visitors to the Chinese court. This pendant, embroidered with a conch shell and other auspicious objects on lotuses, may once have hung from the crown of a large sculpture of a Buddha. A Tibetan inscription on the back indicates that the silk was given by the master or abbot of a place named Kungalegpa (as yet unidentified), for the purpose of bringing knowledge and good fortune to the mothers of sentient beings.
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