South India
Hindu / Buddhist

Conch shell, brass
Late 19th-Early 20th century
Length: 15.25 in; Width: 7.25 in; Finial Length: 5 in
Aerophones – Wind Instruments Proper – Lip Vibrated

Sankha (shankh) is a sacred conch horn of India and South Asia.  The shell is that of a large gastropod Turbinella pyrum.  The earliest mention of the sankha is in the Atharva-veda (ca. 1000 B.C.E.), prominently in Hindu (and Buddhist) culture as a temple instrument.  It serves as one of the emblems of the great god Vishnu. It also functioned as a lustral vessel and as part of the insignia of royalty and the aristocracy (the Ksatriya caste).  The extended brass mouthpiece of this sankha suggests a lotus.  The fitting at the top terminates with the head of a human with ornately carved brass in a floral plum pattern. Today, the sankha is still used for ritual ceremonies.