Rare Matched Set of Antique Lingam Bowls

Partial Chromatic/Chakra Set of Rare Large Antique Lingam Singing Bowls

This is a rare MATCHED SET of Antique Lingam Singing Bowls…bowls of a similar quality, size, weight, condition, physical form and tonality.  In other words bowls that look and sound as though they might have come from the same forge and were made as a set with notes that correspond to the western musical scale. 

Obviously this was not the case, nor would it ever be, but on seeing and hearing this set one might be forgiven for thinking otherwise.  The truth is, like all chakra or chromatic sets; they have been individually selected from randomly sourced bowls over an extended period of time, perhaps years, and expertly assembled into a set.

We are privileged to have in our collection 38 rare superior quality large antique lingam bowls of a similar shape, size, and quality to the one pictured here.  They came in small numbers from several Nepalese sources over a period of time, but because of their similarity, and especially their quality, we believe that some at least formed part of the private collection of one of the Tibetan bowl dealers.

We struck, played, and carefully metered each of the 38 bowls in turn to see if we could make a Chakra Set of 7, or even a Chromatic Set of 12 bowls, but it soon became apparent that some notes appeared again and again, while others were missing altogether.  Where there were several bowls with the same note we chose the one with the frequency closest to perfect pitch that most closely matched the others in the set. 

Ideally we would like 7 or 12 (including sharps and flats) similar bowls in the same octave, but I fear this is a near impossibility.  The next best thing is a set of consecutive bowls across 2 octaves…and here we have a good measure of success, for there are 8 matching bowls grouped together, with a single G3 gap, or a sequence of 9 if you include the large and beautiful E3 which is the correct note but different in style (it’s on the website if you want to take a look). 

In the attached table I have listed two complete 12-note scales one above the other in sequence, and placed the selected bowls beside their note.  You will see that all the bowls are grouped together and split between two octaves, the 3^rd and 4^th, with a single gap where a G3 bowl is missing.   All these rare bowls are in superb condition and unusually large, with diameters ranging from 8.5 inches to 11.75 inches, and all are either perfect pitch or very close.

So, to recap, we have 5 of a 7 bowl chakra set, leaving 2 to find…and 8 (or 9) of a 12 bowl chromatic set, leaving 3 (or 4) to find. There is a fair chance that I will be able to source and match the missing bowls and complete the set of 7 or 12 within a reasonable timeframe of perhaps a year or so…although they could turn up much sooner.  It is quite likely that I could immediately supply the missing notes with unmatched antique lingam bowls, if desired, but they would be different in form and size.

I would prefer to sell this set in its entirety, but would be perfectly happy to subtract up to 3 bowls from the set if the buyer already has some of the notes listed.  Please contact me for further information.