S925 Silver Six-Syllable Mantra Openable Gau Box Charm

The six-syllable mantra is the heart mantra of Avalokiteshvara, six sounds in Sanskrit that became, once written in Tibetan script, the commonest line of text on the plateau. It is cut on prayer wheels and on the stones of mani piles, on lintels, on prayer flags and even on the mudguards of lorries. Few syllables make it quick to recognise, which is why it travelled so widely. Tibetan pronunciation differs from the Sanskrit original, and accents differ from place to place, which does not stop anyone recognising it. Each of the six syllables also has its own colour and direction, which opens onto another system altogether.

A gau box is the Tibetan portable shrine, made to hold a small image, a strip of scripture, a lock of a lama's hair or a relic, worn at the neck so that the shrine goes wherever the person goes. Reduced to jewellery size, the opening mechanism becomes the heart of it: lid and body must meet closely, closing without a rattle yet not so tight that a fingernail cannot lift the lid. The inside of the lid usually carries a lip that seats when closed and keeps the dust out.

Three finishes, and the difference is in the touch and the light. Plated pieces are even and stable in colour, brightest when new; antiqued pieces darken in the recesses and stay bright on the high ground, so the pattern springs out as though the piece had been around for years; polished pieces are brought to a high shine that will hold a reflection, and they show fingerprints most clearly. None is better than the others; it depends which look you want. The depth of an antiqued finish matters too: too black and it resembles a lump of coal, too light and the pattern disappears.

Used as a component, start with the hole. The opening at the top of the box has to pass your cord: too small and it will not go through, too large and the box hangs off to one side. Then proportion. The box has thickness of its own, and set among main beads it should run about half a size smaller, or the balance of the string loads onto it and the bracelet drags to one side. It also helps to mix materials, because an all-silver string begins to look heavy with wear.

The catch will loosen. After a few hundred openings the lid develops a little play, which is in the nature of the structure. If you mean to put something inside, measure the clear space first rather than stuffing to fit an idea. Silver oxidises, and the dark in the seams need not be cleaned out, since it is part of the antiqued look. An empty box still takes in dust, so close the lid when you put it away instead of leaving it open.