49. COLLIER À PENDELOQUES EN FORME DE GRIFFE DE TIGRE STYLISÉE EN OR REPOUSSÉ JAVA, VIIIE-XE SIÈCLE 40 cm (15 3/4 in.) long A REPOUSSÉ GOLD NECKLACE OF STYLIZED TIGER CLAWS JAVA, 8TH-10TH CENTURY 爪哇 八至十世紀 金錘揲虎爪式項飾 Provenance: With Claude de Marteau, Brussels, by 1980s Though leaf-like, the curved shapes are inspired by the tiger-claw pendants of South India. They were worn for their powerful talismanic properties and were incorporated into ritual use in Java during the height of cultural and trading exchange between India and Indonesia. This example is rare on account of the matched set of fifteen elements. For further discussion on a related suite of nine elements from the Thompson Collection, see Miksic, Old Javanese Gold, Yale, 2011, p. 148, fig. 29. Also compare with a closely related example in The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1998.544.63a–i).