Exquisite Small Antique Manipuri Singing Bowl – E4

This exquisite small 19th century Manipuri Singing Bowl is covered inside and out with decorative artwork.  It’s a shallow bowl with a slightly flared rim, typical of the Manipuri form, but with an unusual raised mound surrounded by sun motifs (dots within circles) at its centre.  There are more suns encircling the rim and also in a band around the outer wall, below which are vertical lines.

A band of ritual cuts also encircle the outer rim at intervals.  Some of the decorative sun circles have been worn away with the passage of time, leaving just the deeper punched dots at their centre.

The fundamental note is a nice middle octave E4 (337Hz) when struck with a padded mallet or played around the rim with a suede or wooden ringer.

This fascinating small Manipuri bowl is in excellent structural condition, clean and stain-free with a small patch of copper oxidization inside.  It has a bright golden bronze colour.

A small double ended ringer is included in the price.