Indian Plaque Amulet Depicting Durga on a Lion

A goddess on a lion, framed in a little silver doorway of dots.

This plaque amulet depicting Durga on a lion is Hindu, from Rajasthan, India, in coin silver. Amulets bearing the image of a protective deity are widely worn in Rajasthan, generally as devotional jewelry and for protection. The plaque is shaped like a small shrine with a peaked top, and inside an arched niche Durga rides her lion in raised relief. Rows of repoussé dots frame the niche, a beaded border runs around the edge, and small quatrefoils sit at the corners beneath a loop for hanging. It is 2.25 inches long and 2.75 high.

Protection, scaled to fit a chain.