Heavy Large Ultra-Thick Inscribed Antique Thadobati Singing Bowl – Thickest Bowl Ever!

Antique Thadobati Singing Bowl. Note: E4 (Solar Plexus Chakra)

Weight 2.24 kilos (4 lb 15 oz).  Size 22.5 x 10.5 cm (8 ¾ x 4 ¼ inches)

This is the thickest bowl in my collection, and by far the heaviest for its size.  It has been expertly crafted, as its ultra-thick wall would have been extremely difficult to forge.

The fundamental note is a middle octave E4 (321Hz) when struck with a padded mallet or played around the rim with a suede or wooden ringer.

This antique Thadobati Singing Bowl is interesting for several reasons besides the thickness of its wall and grooved lip.  It is larger than usual for this bowl form, and the lower part of the outer wall has been deliberately blackened to create a contrast with the upper part, which is surprisingly golden in colour.

This golden bronze band encircles the rim to a depth of almost 2 inches and carries a long dot-punched inscription halfway around.  Inscriptions are particularly uncommon, especially on Thadobati bowls, and a certain indication of the importance and high esteem in which a bowl was held by a former keeper.

This bowl has circles at its centre, around its belly, and there is another underneath.  Two decorative bands of tiny cuts encircle the outer rim; a common feature on early Thadobati bowls.

This 19^th century Thadobati Singing Bowl is structurally sound, but with patches of copper oxidization underneath and inside, the latter being a coppery red.

A Tibetan silk brocade bowl cushion and a double-ended teak and suede ringer are included in the price.

{audio}thado2-24.mp3{/audio}

Listen: (3 struck notes and 1 played note with a suede ringer)