Production
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where
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AsiaTibet
Photographer: MS | Rights management: Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Attribution - NonCommercial - ShareAlike 4.0 InternationalThe Tibetan cult instruments are built as identical pairs - in contrast to the Tibetan-Buddhist instrument pairs, which differ in details. The silver Ngül-gling pair VII c 1038/1039, each with only four finger holes and one thumb hole, was apparently used less for playing than for splendid display. The body consists of a thin-walled wooden core covered by a heavy silver mantle. The elaborate chiselling with floral ornamentation is striking, not only on the body but also on the protruding funnel, on the lower edge of which there is a surrounding decoration of 28 brass flowers, which is repeated below a raised brass decorative ring at the upper end of the funnel with 13 silver flowers. The pipe support framed by two discs is also elaborately crafted and chiselled. Three downward-facing clasps echo the floral decoration in a simplified form, each finished off with a turquoise. An artistically crafted metal carrying cord is adorned with an amber bead.