Cowrie Decorated Tribal Basket From Nagaland - Ca 1930 Origin - Turkmenistan The chest is made from

The chest is made from laquered Cryptomeria

two of which retain their original hinged lids

a stylized representation of female genitalia

Parvati was scorned by her husband Shiva for the colour of her skin and so changed her skin colour to gold becoming Gauri

while the removable top holds the wick

Cowrie Decorated Tribal Basket From Nagaland - Ca 1930 Origin - Turkmenistan The chest is made fromAn old woven basket from the tribal area of Nagaland in North East India. Decorated in cowrie shells, these baskets were hand made to withstand brutal everyday use. Nagaland is a relatively inaccessible and unexplored area of India which borders with Myanmar. The people live in villages set throughout the jungle and until the introduction of Christianity in the 1960's, the people of Nagaland were headhunters, regularly going to war with other nearby