AndrewD
[HoMe Moderator]
12829
Human femur candelabra
Tibetan Buddhists used objects made from human bones as a reminder of the impermanence of life and the need for rebirth; something of a memento mori. This human femur is covered with yak leather and was used as a candle holder. Femurs were also carved into flutes. Other bones were also used: human skulls were fashioned into bowls by lining them with silver or into drums, sometimes covered with human skin. The bones may have been from family members or from revered lamas and monks.
Andrew
Is it a sjambok?
or maybe a vintage gold club? From your pic, it kinda also looks like it could be a lateral view of a distal femur! -MW
but this one is challenging....
and who doesn't like a good challenge? Hope AndrewD will be kind enough to give us another clue! Do you play gold watch-guy? I know of a few people who collect old golf items so I will show them this pic. -MW
I only play during summer. And "play" in inverted commas
I am out on the course whacking the ball occasionally hitting a decent shot More social than skill
Another view …
Thanks for all the great ideas. I agree that it would be quite at home with the Flintstones and golf clubs or a gear stick made me laugh. Ming is on the right track because it is indeed a human femur, but it had a specific meaning and purpose. Any more th...
No, but ...
... I will get into Australian Aboriginal burial practices in another post if there is interest. Our local indigenous people also had some very specific and fascinating uses for bones, again a topic for another post. But this femur was collected during a ...
Nepal and Tibet ...
... when I was 25 years younger I spent 6 months exploring Asia. One of the interesting souvenirs I picked up. Andrew's Grande Tour that needs to be repeated one day. But I will do some PNG artifacts this year on TO too. Andrew
Very cool!
I have no idea what they used this for, but it's ingenious how old cultures used everything to help them survive. You always have the coolest stuff, Andrew! Cheers, Daos
I knew you would like this!
It really is a type of memento mori, as you will see later from my full description of the object. And I have several more in a similar theme to share with you this year, including some anatomical items where we started this conversation 2 or 3 years ago....
The smell of the yak leather ...
... disguises the smell from the bone? Somewhat playful answer, but even now this object has a certain smell that is not ... well ... pleasant. But wait till I get onto items fashioned out of human hair and preserved in emu fat. Even I have to keep those ...
Not a bad guess at all ...
... as femurs have been turned into musical instruments, and this is described in Tibetan Buddhist culture to. But the example I show was not a musical instrument as far as I know. But it did have a 'practical' use. I will post up final pictures and the a...
Human femur candelabra
Tibetan Buddhists used objects made from human bones as a reminder of the impermanence of life and the need for rebirth; something of a memento mori. This human femur is covered with yak leather and was used as a candle holder. Femurs were also carved int...
I would never have guessed that..!!
You have some very interesting items in your collection. Do you use the item or is it just part of a collection of interesting items..? Yours, Andy.
We use more ... conventional ...
... candle stands around the house, so this one is strictly for 'museum' display only. And there is a certain degree of tolerance from my wife, beyond which I cannot push. :-) A
Memento mori
I knew this would intrigue you, my friend. In fact I have come to the conclusion that our mechanical wristwatches are just another type of memento mori. So I plan a series of posts on this topic over the coming months. I can see it is going to be a morbid...