Unique 11 ¾“ Hand-Carved Antique Jambati Singing Bowl – Voice of the Buddha
Engraved Antique Jambati Singing Bowl. Notes G2 & Eb4 (Throat & Solar Plexus Chakras)
Weight 2.52 kilos (5 lb 9 oz). Size 30 x 14 cm (11 ¾ x 5 ½ inches)
This wonderful Antique Jambati Singing Bowl is simply unique – a one-off treasure the likes of which you will not see again anywhere in the world! Virtually its entire outer wall has been intricately engraved with beautiful artwork.
The artwork features one of the 8 auspicious symbols of Buddhism…the Tibetan Conch Shell. The Tibetan conch shell represents the mind of the Buddha, inner peace, and the Buddha’s melodious voice. This Jambati is beautifully engraved with 10 sacred conch shells surrounded by foliage.
The fundamental struck note is a wonderful perfect pitch middle octave G2 (100Hz) when struck with a padded mallet or played around the rim with a suede ringer. The struck note is sometimes accompanied by middle octave Eb4 (303Hz) harmonic, the same note when played around the rim. Sometimes the G2 dominates, and sometimes it’s the Eb4. The rim note changes to a middle D4 (301Hz) with a wooden ringer.
It has a gracefully curved wall, triangulated lip, and rounded bottom. There are circles at its centre, and a decorated band forming a collar around the outer rim. It is in excellent structural condition, clean and free of stains and blemishes, with an aged bronze colour.
The size and quality of this carved Jambati bowl suggests that it probably served a sacred or ceremonial purpose and was commissioned by or for a temple or monastery.
A Tibetan silk brocade bowl cushion, padded striker, and a ringer are included.
Hand engraved antique singing bowls are extremely hard to come by. They are usually genuine 18th and 19th century antique bowls from India that are later exquisitely carved to order in Bangladesh by just a few specialist master craftsmen. Usually only large superior quality high-value Jambati bowls are engraved because the process is lengthy and expensive. It can take a skilled craftsman a month or more to engrave a single bowl, depending upon its size and the complexity of design. And because the carving is usually commissioned they rarely come on the market. The engraved artwork adds considerably to the bowl’s cost and value, and more importantly, its status as an important ceremonial or temple bowl. This beautiful bowl is one of very few engraved antique Jambati in my collection.