Rare Large 19th Century Antique Jambati-Lingam Singing Bowl – Eb3 (158/9Hz)

This wonderful superior quality antique Lingam Singing Bowl is one of the largest antique Lingams I have encountered in over 35 years of collecting rare bowls, and one of very few Jambati-Lingams.

With a diameter of 10 inches and weighing just over 3 pounds it is light for its size, making it possible to hold and play for an extended period rather than have it resting on a mat or cushion.  Its large size, age, superior quality, unique form, and fabulous voice all combine to make it one of the most desirable and collectable of antique singing bowls, and its next lucky guardian can rest assured they have one of the rarest and finest bowls in the world.

The fundamental note is a lovely third octave Eb3 (158Hz) when struck with a padded mallet or played around the rim with a suede ringer.  The rim note changes to a middle octave B4 (483Hz) with a wooden ringer.

When viewed from the side one could easily mistake this bowl for a medium-size Jambati.  It has the gracefully curved hammered wall of a Jambati, a triangulated grooved lip and decorative bands encircling the outer.  But inside, at its centre, there is a magnificent raised and pointed lingam surrounded and defined by two sets of decorative circles.  And underneath is a matching large and deep navel or yoni.

This would have been a very difficult bowl to craft with its extra fine walls, and its size and superior quality suggest that it might have been a ceremonial bowl commissioned for a temple or monastery.

This amazing Lingam bowl was sourced in the Indian Himalayas bordering Nepal and is believed to date from the 1800s, possibly earlier.  It is showing signs of its age but is in excellent structural condition, clean and free of stains, and has a fabulous antique bronze colour and aged patina.

A Tibetan silk brocade bowl cushion, padded striker, and two different ringers are included in the price.

Antique Lingam Singing Bowls are sacred musical vessels and the rarest and most sought-after of all Himalayan bowls.  They typically have diameters of between 5 and 7 inches (23 to 28 cm).  Very rarely will a larger one come to light, but anything over 9 inches is virtually unheard of!