A metal mould in an oval shape is a face of Sama, a lady from Jammu, who lived in the Himalayan region of Jammu and Kashmir. The upper part of the mould has inscriptions of her name and locality, further indicating that this was an object of personal and memory. The face has been carved with extreme detail, is expressive, and characterizes the dignity of values of the Pahari-Rajput community to which Sama belonged.
The Pahari-Rajputs are one of the major ethnic and social groups living within the Himalayan boundaries across Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Proud of their chivalrous legacy as warriors, rulers, and patrons of the arts, they have a rich tradition of their memorial objects and rituals of remembrance and ancestral veneration. Such face moulds may have acted as personal home memorials or sacred relics within localized shrines, wherein an individual has been remembered who was notable from a social or familial view. The human likeness in metal casting is uncommon in Himalayan regions and performed only by proficient artisans. The mould of Sama is the personality that views calm strength and grace that embody personal identity with collective cultural narration. The object within the halls of the Indian Museum, Kolkata, is a valuable document for the material culture of mountain communities and the private forms of cultural heritage that they carried forward through generations.