Malas with Old Large Beads & Counters

Three different old Tibetan malas with large old beads, some with vajra counters.

One of these malas has reddish brown dyed bone beads with a vajra and vajra bell counters;
another has very old reddish beads inlaid with brass;
the third has large disc shaped white beads with delicate silver coloured vajra counters.
All three have one or more turquoise coloured beads.

The 108 beads are traditionally yak or camel bone or resin. 

We buy these in Leh, Ladakh from a Tibetan lady in the Refugee Market. She was originally from the Kailash region of Tibet but now lives in Nepal. 

Her family spend the winter in Nepal assembling the beads into malas which they bring to Ladakh for the summer season. We first met her in September 2022, the end of the season, and we found her packing up on her last day before she went home. This year, 2026, she was recovering from an appendix operation and daughter in law was running the stall.

Length:
Red with counters approx 60cm
Old red beads approx 80cm
White beads 58cm