Indian Plaque Amulet Depicting Mahishasura-Mardini Slaying

A crowned, bearded figure rides a lion with a curling tail, against a background as finely pebbled as sharkskin.

This plaque amulet depicting Mahishasura-Mardini slaying is Hindu, from Rajasthan, India, in coin silver. In Rajasthan, silver plaque amulets showing deities and folk heroes are widely worn as protective pendants. The figure faces forward, with a broad crown, wide eyes and a long beard, astride a striding lion. Leafy sprays curl in the upper corners, and small rosettes sit at the lion's feet. The background is densely punched, and two ribbed loops rise from the top edge. It is 3.5 inches high, 2.5 long and 0.25 deep.

Small enough to wear, and serious enough to mean it.