Prayer wheel
Category
Brassware
Date
1890 - 1904
Materials
copper, brass, wood & leather
Measurements
300 mm (H); 90 mm (Dia)
Order this imageCollection
Kedleston Hall, Derbyshire
NT 107390
Summary
A Tibetan prayer wheel made from copper with brass mounts and a wooden handle. Inside the cylindrical copper wheel, there will be sutras and in particular the mantra 'Om Mani Padme Hum', which means 'Hail to the jewel in the lotus'. It is the mantra (religious statement) that is associated with Avalokitesvara, the Bodhisattva of Compassion. A bodhisattva is someone who has reached enlightenment, but who stays on earth to save all beings from suffering. The Dalai Lama is the living reincarnation of Avalokitesvara. This style of prayer wheel would be carried by a pilgrim and is an alternative means to reading the sacred texts as spinning the wheel sends the prayers into the ether and generates merit. The prayer wheel also symbolises the 'Wheel of Law', which refers to Buddha's first sermon. 'A copper prayer-wheel, brass-mounted, with wood handle' (Christie's entry)
Provenance
Purchased in 1986 by the National Heritage Memorial Fund from Francis Curzon, 3rd Viscount Scarsdale (1924-2000). Gifted to the National Trust in 1987 by the National Heritage Memorial Fund.