Indian Iron Tantric Lingam

Pale grey with mud-red camouflage, as if it lost an argument with a puddle.

This tantric lingam is from Narmada River, Madhya Pradesh, India. It is quartz crystal & iron. Dams planned along the Narmada since the 1940s have steadily removed the dry season that harvesting depends on, so gathering genuine lingams from the riverbed has become close to impossible. Plump oval on a black foot. The cool grey ground is blotched with irregular maroon and brown shapes, dense near the center and thickest at the base. The upper areas shine softly, and the edges of each patch are crisp. It is 9.5 inches high and 4.75 in diameter.

Camouflage for a battlefield where nobody turned up.