Tibetan Elephant Decorated/Inlaid With Turquoise, Red Coral, and Mother Of Pearl With Carved Bone Tusks. Estimated more than 50 yrs old. Tibetan artists have played a key role in the cultural life of Tibet for more than a thousand years. From designs for painted furniture to elaborate murals in religious buildings, their efforts have permeated virtually every facet of life on the Tibetan plateau. The vast majority of surviving artworks created before the mid 20th century are dedicated to the depiction of religious subjects, with the main forms being thangka, distemper paintings on cloth, Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, and small statues in bronze, or large ones in clay, stucco or wood. They were commissioned by religious establishments or by pious individuals for use within the practice of Tibetan Buddhism and were manufactured in large workshops by monks and lay artists, who are mostly unknown. The art of Tibet may be studied in terms of influences which have contributed to it over the centuries, from other Chinese, Nepalese, Indian, and sacred styles. (Wikipedia) Size: See Ruler Photo. (Photos Represent The Condition Of The Lot.)

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