Prayer Wheel Item Number: N4.2 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Description
Tibetan prayer wheel known as mani khorlo (མ་ཎི་འཁོར་ལོ།). Barrel-shaped copper object covered in repousse devotional prayer in Tibetan script; object is capped with red paint and a pointed finial, and has a short metal tube attached at the bottom. A length of copper wire tied to a small piece of lead it attached to the side. The wooden handle is missing.
History Of Use
The handheld mani khorlo (མ་ཎི་འཁོར་ལོ།) or prayer wheel spins with the movement of the wrist, while the stone on the short string sustains the momentum. The wrapped spindle is known as the “life tree.” In spinning the wheel, the practitioner reaps the same benefits of having read the countless prayers coiled inside, a useful means for illiterate Buddhists to attain merit. The wheel should be spun clockwise to coincide with the sun’s movement and the direction of the writing on the wheel to facilitate the release of the blessings into the world.
Cultural Context
Mani khorlo (མ་ཎི་འཁོར་ལོ།) or prayer wheels are ritual objects used in Tibetan Buddhist culture.
Item History
- Made in Tibet
- Owned by Union College
- Received from Union College (Donor) during 1960
What
- Name
- Prayer Wheel
- Identification Number
- N4.2
- Type of Item
- prayer wheel
- Material
- lead metal and copper metal
- Manufacturing Technique
- repousse
- Overall
- height 15.0 cm, diameter 7.5 cm
Who
- Culture
- Tibetan
- Previous Owner
- Union College
- Received from
- Union College (Donor)
Where
- Holding Institution
- MOA: University of British Columbia
- Made in
- Tibet
When
- Acquisition Date
- during 1960
Other
- Item Classes
- metalwork
- Condition
- fair
- Current Location
- Case 76
- Accession Number
- 0018/0002