This is a small, antique Tibetan copper & white metal or silver prayer box and /or portable shrine (Gao) with a small gold colored seated Buddha statue inside.

It dates circa 1890-1930.

It measures 3 1/3 inches tall by 3 inches wide by 1 1/2 inches in depth.

The front cover is covered overall with wonderfully tooled reposse images, including a Tibetan beast or lion surrounded by Buddhist calligraphy, topped by a flame. The rest of the box is copper, under the protective, stitched cover.

It also has stitched covers from the early to middle 20th Century.