Country Group: The Himalayas (Tibet, Nepal, Mongolia and Other)

Item id: 7318

Gandharan stupa with original lid. Contains a remarkable solid gold camel(?) head and neck that was reportedly found inside. 1500 to 2000 years old, gold piece could be older. Gold camel head is 5/8 inches tall and stupa is 1 1/4 inches tall. Likely this stupa was the "heart" of a large reliquary built in a temple complex. It would have been placed inside a bigger round reliquary that was then placed in a bigger one that was then placed inside a big temple stupa where it sat for more than 1500 years until the modern world disturbed its rest. Wonderful to have the original cover. There is no way to tell if the contents are original.