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13. Prayer wheel Tibet early 20th Century Copper and brass, conch shell Diameter: 12.5cm (5”) |
The large copper wheel is knopped by a lotus bud finial, which protects the central post around which a long written prayer on paper, stitched in to a cloth cover, is held within the copper body of the wheel. Below the main body is a disc of white conch shell which serves to ease the turning of the wheel on the brass bound wooden handle. A lead weight provides the momentum when the wheel is turned by a practitioner. Most traditional Tibetans owned such a wheel which is turned in conjunction which uttering prayers and saying the Buddhist rosary of 108 beads, particularly when circumambulating a holy place. The turning of the wheel and thus the prayer is thought to speed the aspirations of the prayer to the ears of the gods. Large prayer sewn into a cotton cover within. |