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South Asia · c. 300 BCE – today

Tiger-claw & tooth amulets

Meaning

Tiger claws and teeth carry the tiger's courage, strength and ferocity, the strongest animal of the Indian forest and the mount of the goddess Durga.

Intent

They were hung on children to protect them from evil spirits and the evil eye and to make them brave, and worn by men for courage. The bagh-nakh claw weapon has the same imagery.

Significance

The tiger claw pendant became a fashionable Victorian jewel, brought back from India by British hunters and officers and set in gold. Today, with tigers endangered, genuine claws are illegal to trade.

History

The practice is old in Indian folk tradition. Gold-mounted claw jewellery is typical of 19th-century India and Victorian Britain, c. 1850–1900.

Making yours
Claws 4–6 cm, capped in repoussé gold or silver. Resin or horn copies avoid wildlife-law issues.
South Asia: the tradition

India combines the protective systems of several religions. Hindu kavacha ('armour') prayers and yantras, Jain and Buddhist charms, Muslim ta'wiz and Sikh symbols are often worn by the same people. Planetary astrology (jyotisha) gave rise to the navaratna nine-gem jewel and to gemstones prescribed to balance the planets. Tigers' claws, rudraksha seeds and black thread against nazar (the evil eye) are pan-Indian. Mughal and Rajput courts made these amulets into jewellery of gold and precious stones, and British India turned the tiger claw into a Victorian fashion.

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Tiger claws, steel, Deccan, 17th centuryTiger claws, steel, Deccan, 17th centuryMaharashtra · ca. 17th centuryTiger claws bagh nakh composed of five curved hooks designed to be concealed in the palm of the hand, KolhapurTiger claws bagh nakh composed of five curved hooks designed to be concealed in the palm of the hand, KolhapurKolhapur · 19th centuryTiger claws bagh nakh curved hooks concealed within the palm of the hand, Gwalior, 19th centuryTiger claws bagh nakh curved hooks concealed within the palm of the hand, Gwalior, 19th centuryGwalior · 19th centuryrectangular, tiger's claws; Jewellery, silver turquoise, grelots, Indiarectangular, tiger's claws; Jewellery, silver turquoise, grelots, IndiaTiger claws or 'bagh nakh'. An assassin's weapon composed of four curved hooks resembling claws attached to a Tiger claws or 'bagh nakh'. An assassin's weapon composed of four curved hooks resembling claws attached to a IndiaAmuletic necklace, Bear claws and red trade beads.Amuletic necklace, Bear claws and red trade beads.Tiger claws or 'bagh nakh'. An assassin's weapon composed of five curved hooks resembling claws attached to a Tiger claws or 'bagh nakh'. An assassin's weapon composed of five curved hooks resembling claws attached to a Maharashtra · 19th centuryTiger claws or 'bagh nakh'. An assassin's weapon composed of five curved hooks resembling claws attached to a Tiger claws or 'bagh nakh'. An assassin's weapon composed of five curved hooks resembling claws attached to a IndiaCOLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Halsketting van coixpitten en tijgernagels TMnr 811-1COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Halsketting van coixpitten en tijgernagels TMnr 811-1COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Ceintuur met dertien in goud gevatte gepolijste tijgernagels TMnr 1572-3COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM Ceintuur met dertien in goud gevatte gepolijste tijgernagels TMnr 1572-3Tiger Claws set in engraved gold and linked by chains, suspended from a snake chain, c. 1865 CETiger Claws set in engraved gold and linked by chains, suspended from a snake chain, c. 1865 CEPangolin scale and claw worn as talisman - oo 246940 (cropped to D)Pangolin scale and claw worn as talisman - oo 246940 (cropped to D)

More from South Asia: Navaratna (nine-gem) amulets · Yantras & mantra plates · Deity pendants & sacred seeds
Every type in the gallery

Anything in the gallery can be made, by hand, in the prescribed metal or yours and, where the tradition names an hour, at that hour or with a plain note that it was not. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted first. I reply within one business day.