S925 Silver Garuda Gau Box Pendant

In Tibet the great bird is called khyung, a guardian creature at the top of the hierarchy. Its form is a bird's body with wings spread, horns on its head and a snake in its beak. The snake stands for the naga race, and holding it means pressing down on churning force. The image appears on door lintels, ritual implements and textiles across Tibet. In some paintings the bird's talons grip the snake's body as well, a fiercer gesture; made small, usually only head and wings are kept. The horns on the head are the easiest way to tell it from an ordinary bird. Tibet counts the garuda as a supramundane protector, not the same class as worldly auspicious beasts.

A gau box is a small box carried on the body, and the Tibetan word means exactly that, a protection box. The body has a cavity and the lid opens, and what goes inside is up to the wearer: a small image, a folded text, a pill, or a scrap of old cloth. Many people wear it empty. Anything placed inside is best put in a small cloth bag first, since a metal cavity will rub at the edges. Gau boxes come round and square; round suits a small image, square suits a folded text.

This is the large size, with a deep cavity that holds more, at the cost of weight. Worn at the chest, the cord should be wide, since a thin one cuts into the neck. The lid faces out and opens on the rings at either side; do not force it, because a silver hinge will not take repeated hard bending. There is a gap at the lid and it does not seal, so do not put powder inside, which will leak. A large box at the chest knocks against a desk edge when you bend, so take it off before work.

The garuda's wings spread across the lid and take up a lot of room, so the relief can only be shallow. From a distance you see the spread outline; up close the feathers appear, pressed in one line at a time. A Tibetan-style thick cord or a leather thong both suit it, and a metal chain looks too light by comparison. On a woman the large size reads heavy, and it can be worn on a longer cord across the body instead. The feather lines on the lid should all run the same way; out of order they look like scales.

Do not put anything damp in the cavity, since moisture trapped inside makes the silver darken from the inner wall. Open the lid every few months and let it breathe. Wipe the outside with a soft cloth, use a soft brush in the feather lines, and do not poke at them with a toothpick. A drop of sewing-machine oil at the hinge once a year is enough. Support the whole lid when opening and closing; grip one corner only and it will loosen over time.