This silver ornament measures 14 inches in width across the top and 12 ² inches across the bottom. It has some engraving around the heart and geometric pierced designs, and has heart-shaped and triangular bangles hanging from each of the three cross pieces. Around its edges are pairs of tiny holes which suggest that it was fastened to another object. But no one knows what it is. Experts in the field of Indian material culture believed it was a breastplate. A noted silver authority argues that it once decorated an Indian cradle-board. There is no evidence to support either claim. Only one of its kind is known to exist. What do you think it is?
Courtesy: National Museum of Man, National Museums of Canada
