Tibetan Traveling Shrine

Tibetan traveling shrines, known as Gau, were believed to offer protective powers and were used to hold and carry sacred objects during long journeys. Crafted over a century ago, Buddhist followers may have purchased this intricate gau while on religious pilgrimage to a temple or holy site. The brass shrine is decorated in repoussé with the cintamani, or jewel of immortality, a wrathful demon, and the eight auspicious signs, including the wheel, the lotus, and the golden fish. These intricate symbols surround a central glass panel displaying a small polychromed Buddhist deity held within the shrine.