“Count Your Blessings: The Art of Prayer Beads in Asia”

Prayer beads come in a wide variety of sizes and materials, but some of the strands on show here are unbeatably strange. One set, made from the vertebrae of a snake, was likely used in Himalayan shamanic rituals. Another is made from a human skull and was probably employed in wrathful tantric practices. Taken as a whole, though, this exhibition gives essential and visually lovely insight into the ritual use of these unusual pieces.