Indian Plaque Amulet Depicting Boteh

A flower-like rosette boss sits above a bright pendant with a rubbed, flattened sprig.

This plaque amulet depicting a boteh is Hindu, from Rajasthan, India. It is coin silver. The boteh is a curved teardrop motif found in textiles and metalwork across South and Central Asia, and its meaning is debated by scholars. Leaning teardrop with a small loop and a petaled boss, the leaf spray lifted in soft relief. The surface is bright and pale with brownish dirt in the hollows and a slightly crimped edge on the left. It is 0.5 inches long and 0.75 high.

Dented and polished, with a spring in its step.