Indian Plaque Amulet Depicting Cobra with Nagas

A cobra coiled into a tidy spiral, with the sun on one side and the moon on the other.

This plaque amulet depicting a cobra with nagas is Hindu, from Rajasthan, India, in coin silver. Serpent deities, or nagas, are widely revered in India as guardians of water, fertility and the earth. At the center a cobra rises from a coiled body with its hood spread. A smiling sun with a ring of rays sits at upper left and a crescent moon at upper right. Two smaller serpents stand along the sides, and leafy sprouts rise from the base. It is 2.5 inches high and 1.75 wide.

The sun and moon, both keeping an eye on things.