62 THE AMERICAN MUSEUM JOURNAL 



HINDOO SILVER WARE. 



LARGE and valuable collection of silver work from 

 India has been presented to the Museum by Mr. 

 J. G. Phelps-Stokes. There are in all forty-one 

 pieces representing the best types of native work. 

 The chief value of this collection to the Museum, 

 however, is not in the technique of the objects, but with respect 

 to their uses. Several types of the regalia of a dancing girl are 

 represented. One pair of anklets bears a large number of bells 

 with foot and toe pieces. There are also ear and neck ornaments 

 in the form of crescents with similar bells attached . These dan- 

 cers wear massive silver girdles with long circular clasps which 

 are represented in the collection by a very handsome piece. 

 There are two other pieces of particular interest, because they 

 represent the conventional ornaments worn by girls before and 

 after puberty. The one worn before puberty contains a girdle 

 from the middle of which hangs a heart-shaped ornament, inlaid ' 

 with bits of turquoise, while above extending upward and at- 

 tached to the necklace is a broad band similar to the girdle. At 

 the age of puberty this is discarded and a girdle of similar form, 

 but with circular appendage takes its place, which is represented 

 in the collection by a very handsome specimen consisting of a 

 girdle with a double chain extending up over the shoulders 

 around the neck and down the back to the girdle behind . These 

 pieces come from the Central Provinces of India. 



There are several objects of religious interest, two of which 

 are shown in the illustration. One is a small shrine containing 

 an image of the Buddha, wrapped in sacred cloth. Such a shrine 

 is usually worn by priests, suspended from a neck chain or string 

 of prayer beads; the other is an elaborate silver prayer wheel 

 of Thibetan type and is probably one of the most valuable speci- 

 mens in the whole series, since such objects cannot readily be 

 secured, owing to their sacred character. There are several other 

 religious objects, such as anklets worn by the priests, with a niim- 

 ber of bangles attached indicating the rank of the wearer, and 

 small vessels for holding and sprinkling sacred water over the 

 worshipers. This collection is particularly valuable to the 

 Museum for comparative study, because the anklets and foot 



