Ritual Offering Tray (Puja Thali) with Chiseled Floral Design and Crimped Rim

Hindu, 17th-19th century

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Hindu, 17th-19th century

Physical Qualities Copper, 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm.) Diam.

Credit Line Lockwood de Forest Collection

Object Number 1922.2.99

Puja means reverence, honor, worship, ritual. Puja thali may be translated as “prayer plate.” A puja is the most common form of worship in the Hindu religion. It may honor or celebrate deities, events, special guests, or the memory of a deceased person. Puja involves offering light, incense, flowers, and food to the deities. During worship, Hindu believers use many items which are kept on a puja tray, including a bell, pot of water, lamp, incense burner, powder made from ground saffron or turmeric, and a spoon. Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh practitioners also perform puja rituals.

The Baltimore Museum of Art by purchase, 1922; American Art Galleries, New York; Lockwood de Forest purchased in India, probably 1914

Collection installation, "Asia. Offering Options," Levy Gallery, Baltimore Museum of Art, October 5, 2023-

Catalogue of the Rare and Valuable Examples of East Indian Persian and Syro-Damascan Art and Curios forming the private collection of the widely known artist and connoisseur Lockwood De Forest, Esq. of New York City, NY: American Art Association, 1922, no. 414.