Tibetan butter tea bowl - silver and wood

Striking Tibetan butter tea bowl(phorba) made of silver and wood - an everyday ritual object of Tibetan life of remarkable craftsmanship, probably 20th century.

The bowl consists of a turned wooden bowl - polished on the inside, with a warm, dark wood tone - which has an elaborate metal mounting with a high silver content on the outside. A wide exposed strip of wood runs underneath the rim of the bowl as a warm color accent. The base is richly decorated with surrounding bands - a pearl cord band and an openwork tendril band. From below, the base shows an elaborately openwork endless knot in the center, surrounded by cloud tendrils - a sign of great craftsmanship that otherwise remains hidden from view.

In everyday Tibetan life and in monastic practice, the butter tea bowl is a central object - it accompanies its owner for a lifetime and is often inherited. Bowls of this quality with a silver mount on wood were typically reserved for wealthier households or the clergy.

Diameter 12 cm · Height 5.5 cm · Weight 243 g · Wood with silver mounting · Probably 20th century