Burmese Pagoda Talong Prayer Bead Ring - With 15 Additional Prayer Beads

The largest central prayer bead originates from the collapsed pagodas of Mandalay and Bagan. The age of the prayer bead can be inferred from the statues of the revered ancestor Pupawun, unearthed from the same pagoda. It is estimated to be from the 15th century, at least 500 years old... Local master artisans, following ancient traditional ring styles, crafted the pure handmade ring setting before the pandemic began in 2020. The antique dealer brought this piece from Myanmar to Taiwan at the end of 2023. This ring features 15 small prayer beads inlaid around the setting. These small prayer beads were also retrieved by Burmese Buddhist temples from ancient pagodas. They are extremely rare and exceptionally precious! Buddhist temples would place 3-6 of these small prayer beads into very small vials, with a touch of fragrant charm oil paste inside... making them convenient for personal carrying. The price of one vial, converted to New Taiwan Dollars, is NT$800. These were only gifted to devout followers who donated to build temples during pilgrimages, and were not publicly sold. ************************** Prayer beads, as sacred objects, are plain and unadorned... externally, it is impossible to discern their age. Many temples in Myanmar have a tradition of making prayer beads. It is difficult to distinguish between new and old prayer beads by appearance alone. Therefore, whether they are prayer beads excavated from pagodas, or newly made modern prayer beads (or even fake prayer beads)... it's truly indistinguishable by appearance. While Thai amulets can be sent back to Thailand for paid authentication services, Talong prayer beads, even if returned to Myanmar, have no authentication bodies. It is likely that no one in the world can authenticate the age, authenticity, or fakeness of Talong prayer beads... When purchasing prayer beads, one can only rely on trusted antique dealers... *********************** The ring setting is crafted with traditional handmade retro techniques, appearing rugged and simple. The international ring size is approximately 16, suitable for a man's finger. Although it is a man's size, women can wear it as a pendant on a necklace or with a cord knot. It can still offer the protective blessings of the prayer beads. Originally, the ring setting had a black coating (which has been polished off). This was a local custom, applying a special type of oil. Over time, the ring setting would gradually turn black... It was precisely this black outer layer that prevented difficulties with Burmese customs. Because the original bright yellow texture of the ring setting and prayer beads would have led customs to suspect the smuggling of gold. Antique dealers have had experiences in previous years of their items being seized by Burmese customs for inspection... Although this batch escaped inspection, some of the ring settings and prayer beads were still roughly handled and tested by customs on the spot... Bringing this batch of prayer bead rings back to Taiwan was not easy!!! As for the efficacy of Talong prayer beads... please search online, there is abundant information, and it will not be elaborated here. 8500-113.10.08