Lid of Buddhist Monk’s Alms Bowl with Floral Inlay Decoration
1824-1849
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Lid of Buddhist Monk’s Alms Bowl with Floral Inlay Decoration
1824-1849
Physical Qualities
Lacquer, wood, mother-of-pearl, 3 × 11 in. (7.6 × 27.9 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Princess Wan Waithayakan
Object Number
1948.24
This lid would have covered a plain black bowl that rested on a stand decorated to match the lid. Bowls like this were used by Buddhist monks to collect offerings of food or money given to support their monasteries. Such ornate ensembles would have been donated by the Buddhist faithful as a means of earning merit for the care of one’s ancestors or benefit of one’s own rebirth.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 1948; Princess Wan Waithayakan [or Waithayakon]
[Asian Refresh]
Asian Gallery Rotations 2023
Asian Rotations 2024
Asian Rotations 2025
Lisa McQuail, "Treasures of Two Nations: Thai Royal Gifts to The United States of America," Asian Cultural History Program, Smithsonian Institution, 1997, p. 74, for a Covered Alms Bowl.
On View at the BMA
