An embroidered foliate crown with five Tathagathas  Tibet, 16th century

The crown with five petals, each portraying a Buddha seated on a lotus throne with a simple gold halo surrounded by clouds, the petals lined with a netted cotton and leather. Silk face with embroidery and couched gilt-wrapped threads, mounted onto netted cotton and leather.
23¼ in. (59 cm.) wide - Estimate: $2,500 - $3,500

Provenance : Private Collection in Australia

Notes: This embroidered silk crown, still in excellent condition, would have been made for a Tibetan Lama. The stitch was embroidered with two needles of thread instead of one, adding to the rarity of this piece. For similar crowns see Chinese Textiles, Spink & Son, Ltd., London, 5 - 23 December, 1994, p. 47, cat. nos. 46 and 47 and Chinese and Central Asian Textiles: Selected articles from Orientations 1983 - 1997, 1998, p. 44, fig. 5.

Christie's. Indian and Southeast Asian Works of Art. 16 September 2008. New York, Rockefeller Plaza