Buddhist ceremonial bone apron, c.1800 (bone, metal, cotton cloth)

This sacred bone apron would have been worn with matching hat, chest ornament, armbands, bracelets, and anklets during ritual dances and ceremonies associated with Tantric Buddhism; the upper section consists of seven oblong bone pieces decorated with four-armed deities standing on lotus thrones and wearing long garlands made of human skulls; the central deity has three heads and is standing on five corpses; it is further decorated with double strands of bone beads and diamond-shaped ornaments carved with the eight auspicious Buddhist symbols; bells are attached under the heads of guardian deities at the bottom edge;