The slightly domed cylinder is mounted with four faces of Shiva showing considerable traces of gilding, the front a fierce, bearded and moustachioed visage. The flared base of the cover rests on the coils of the naga-snake whose cobra head rises along the shaft, while the tail tucks neatly behind it’s body. The whole resting on a lotus base.

Provenance, The Kemper Collection of Himalayan Art, Christies Amsterdam, October 1994, Lot 58