Subject: Conch Shell Earrings (Spiral Design)
Conch Shell PageSubjects, Topics & Types:
- Description
- Heruka Appearance (Siddha)
- Bone Ornaments
- Virupa
- Padampa Sanggye
- Confusions
- Others...
Video: Conch Shell Earrings
Conch shell earrings are different from bone earrings which are described in the list of the Eight Bone Ornaments. Conch earrings are often depicted in a spiral pattern but that is not always the case. With sculpture the earrings are more often round, sometimes with a teardrop-like pendant, but should always white.
Bone Ornaments and earrings are related to Heruka and wrathful deities which can also be on human figures that take on Heruka Appearance. Conch shell earrings are an inherited fashion of Hindu and Buddhist tantric practitioners of India. Buddhist Tantric deities are not textually described as wearing conch shell.
The design of spiral earrings representing conch shell is found much more often with Sakya depictions of Indian teachers and less so with other religious traditions of Tibet.
Jeff Watt, 9-2023
(The images below are only a selection of examples from the links above).
