Compact signet ring: Set against a reddish-shimmering bronze background, the root syllable “Tam” is rendered in fire-gilded gold, framed by a smooth silver border. The contrast between the warm copper tone, matte silver, and deep golden yellow makes the small 1.5 cm surface the focal point of the piece. The ring band is open-worked and can be adjusted for size.
Tam is the seed syllable of Green Tara. In the Tibetan tradition, she is regarded as the one who liberates from fear and danger—she is depicted with one foot lowered, ready to rise at a moment’s notice. Seed syllables are not ordinary words, but condensed symbols: they represent a form, a line, and its meaning, and appear in manuscripts, on buildings, on ritual implements, and on the body.
The ring is cast in Khyenle bronze, an alloy of brass and copper with small amounts of gold, silver, tin, and zinc. The tradition dates back to the 19th century and the workshops associated with Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo in Dzongsar, in the Dege County of Kham; the name links the Khyentse lineage with the craft of bronzework. Each piece undergoes six stages of production—wax model, mold, smelting, casting, hand finishing, and polishing—with the hand finishing taking up the majority of the time.
The ring comes in an elegant wooden gift box.
CHARU connects designers with artisan cooperatives in the Tibetan cultural region and uses these connections to develop products that bring traditional techniques into everyday life.
Ring head Ø 1.5 cm · 10 g · open, adjustable band · Li-Ma bronze, silver, fire-gilded · Handcrafted in Tibet
