ABOUT THE LISTED ITEM:
The vintage brass, copper, bone, and white metal Trumpet(Kangling) is very well made and in very good condition with some dents, marks, and scratches as well as a darkened patina of age. The item dates from the early 1970s and was acquired in the beautiful and historic city of Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh, North-East India
DESCRIPTION :
Tibetan trumpet (kangling) is made of bone, silver/ white metal alloy, copper alloy, turquoise, and coral. The trumpet measures around 23 inches. Its form is that of a human femur bone joint that tapers to a trumpet-like mouth. The joint end is decorated with white metal beading around the openings. Approximately 10 cm from the joint is a flared and decorative section of overlaid metalwork. From this point,the Kangling tapers distinctly towards the long flute-like mouthpiece, also overlaid atop the copper body of the trumpet The long mouthpiece section is bound in two thick copper brands that show a chiseled floral design.
SYMBOLISM OF TIBETAN TRUMPET :
This Tibetan trumpet or kangling, made of human thigh bone, is decorated with silver and white repousse metal alloy, with turquoise and coral stones. It would have been used during the Tibetan ritual of Chöd, or ‘Cutting Through the Ego', during which practitioners use a double-sided drum and a trumpet made of human bone like this to cut through attachment to the physical body. The piercing wail of the kangling is used to summon spirits to feast on one's visualized dismembered corpse. This kangling is particularly unusual because of its elaborate repousse decoration (usually they are much plainer). We see a snow lion's face in relief, a celestial emblem of Tibet that is considered the protector of the Buddha.
