Felt Yak Garland with Bell

A garland of three felt yaks, strung one above the other on a black band trimmed with white ric-rac braid. Each animal has a grey face with felted nostrils and red-brown bead eyes, a shaggy pale forelock, long wool fringes and sand-coloured horns made of coarsely woven fabric.

In the Tibetan highlands, the yak is regarded as the epitome of nomadic life. It provides milk, butter, wool and fuel, and carries loads across the mountain passes.

The garlands are made in a workshop in Dharamsala that offers Tibetan refugee women and women from the surrounding Indian villages work with flexible hours. The figures are filled with cotton offcuts from the workshop itself and pure sheep’s wool.

At the top, the garland has a loop for hanging; at the bottom hangs a small brass bell.

Length approx. 80 cm · Yaks approx. 8 cm high each · 65 g · Felt, wool, brass · Filled with cotton offcuts and sheep’s wool · Handmade in Dharamsala, India

Note: Decorative item, not a toy.