Brocaded fabric panel
Iran
Collected by Phoebe A. Hearst, acc. 1909.
9-5746
Phoebe Hearst had a particular passion for textiles from all over the world. She frequently wore a Chinese dressing gown, and at a conference of the YWCA, held at her Pleasanton estate in 1911, she used her collection of costumes to teach about different cultures. This spectacular fabric, with silk and metal-wrapped threads, was included in an exhibition of highlights from her textile collection, presented at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts in 1917.
Skull bowl, cover, and stand
Tibet, 19th century (att.)
Collected by C. H. Clark, acc. 1909.
9-1756a-d
Objects made from human bones play an important role in the Tantric Buddhism of Tibet. They are obtained from the traditional mortuary practice of "sky burial," in which a corpse is left in a high, isolated place for disposal by vultures. Cemetery attendants preserved skulls and leg bones from selected bodies for use in rosaries, bowls, drums, and trumpets. Skull bowls have multiple functions—as a direct object of worship, as a ritualistic implement (an offering vessel, for prophecy, black magic, or exorcism), and as a metaphorical support for meditation.
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