As a professional photographer, Barbara also felt compelled to document these cultures and captured many images of pieces similar to those in the Kippers’ collection as they were being used. The following images are organized by region and pair objects from the exhibition with images taken by Barbara of similar versions being used during festivals and throughout daily life.
Music and performance plays an important role in Buddhist rituals and ceremonies. Thousand-year-old lively and elaborately costumed dances, collectively referred to as Cham, are performed at monasteries throughout Tibet, Ladakh (India) and Bhutan.
The oracle plays an important role in Cham. He acts as a bridge to the divine world, performing an important ritual during the dance known as oracle divination. In this ritual, the oracle invites a particular deity to embody his person. Oracles wear elaborate costumes with crowns such as this diadem, breastplates known as oracle mirrors (melong), vibrant silk textiles, armor, weaponry, and fierce masks depicting the faces of deities.
Monks play dramatic horn and drum music to accompany Cham. The beat of these hand drums (chod damaru) acts as a sound offering (syan pa) to Buddhist deities, meant to emulate the forceful destruction of malevolent spirits.
Most of the tribal peoples of India, also known as adivasi (original inhabitants), live in a belt that stretches across the subcontinent, from Gujarat in the west to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Odisha in the east. Among these groups, jewelry can help identify a person’s regional origin, tribal affiliation, religion, marital status, and age.
Gold jewelry, often in the form of nose rings and earrings, tend to be more finely crafted and would be handed down from generation to generation to maintain tribal heritage.
The Miao people constitute one of China’s largest ethnic minority groups, living in tight-knit communities across Guizhou Province. For thousands of years, silver jewelry has played an important role in Miao culture as dowry, in weddings, and to indicate clan membership. Silver traditions continue to this day, while young women tend to embrace more abundant silver aesthetic compared to older women. A young woman’s festival or wedding ensemble may include hundreds of delicate silver pieces.