Page 25 - Elegantly Made, Art For The Literati, 2020, J.J. Lally, New York

5. A GREEN JADE BUDDHIS T ‘PURE WATER BOWL’
Qianlong Period (1736-1795)

following a Tibetan Buddhist ritual form, with shallow rounded sides carved on the exterior with
the Lantsa character aum repeated six times, each character deeply recessed and filled in with
gilding, the translucent leaf-green nephrite of even tone throughout.

Diameter 4 ⁄8 inches (10.5 cm)
1
Provenance Christie’s London, Fine Chinese Ceramics, Paintings, and Works of Art,
15 June 1998, lot 270
Shuisongshi Shanfang Collection

This type of bowl, called a jing shui wan or ‘pure water bowl’, was used in Tibet during the Butter Lamp Festival when yak
butter lamps are lit and pure water bowls are placed in temples and shrines to commemorate the death of Tsongkhapa,
the great philosopher and teacher around whom the Gelug School of Tibetan Buddhism was formed in the 15th century.
“Aum” is used as the first character in many Buddhist mantras including the popular mantra of Avalokitesvara, the
Bodhisattva of Compassion “Aum mani padme hum.”
The Qianlong emperor, an ardent devotee of Tibetan Buddhism, erected several Tibetan Buddhist temples in Beijing and
commissioned large quantities of implements and vessels for ritual use and as gifts to visiting Tibetan lamas.

清乾隆 碧玉描金蘭札文淨水碗 徑 10.5 厘米
來源 倫敦佳士得 1998 年 6 月 15 日，拍品第 270 號
水松石山房藏