金銅鉢|Buddhist Ceremonial Alms Bowl

Unknown

Date unknown · Gilt bronze · Asian Art

Along with three garments, a stool, and a water strainer, the alms bowl was traditionally one of only six items that a Buddhist monk could own. While monks’ bowls were most often made of iron or wood, this bowl—cast in bronze, finished on a lathe, gilded, and supplied with a low stand—was probably placed on a Buddhist altar, where it would have been filled with offerings for a Buddhist deity. Its swelling body and the slight inward curve of its rim are typical of bowls produced in the eighth century.

Artist

Unknown

Date

Date unknown

Medium

Gilt bronze

Culture

Japan

Department

Asian Art

Credit line

The Harry G. C. Packard Collection of Asian Art, Gift of Harry G. C. Packard, and Purchase, Fletcher, Rogers, Harris Brisbane Dick, and Louis V. Bell Funds, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, and The Annenberg Fund Inc. Gift, 1975