Prayer Wheel

CHINA; Qing dynasty

The prayer wheel is 22.5 cm high and is in two parts: a wooden handle and a revolving drum. When not in use, it is held upright in a wooden stand which measures 14.5 cm high. At the top of the shaft, just below the drum, there is a lotus design with a ring of beads above and below. The revolving drum of the prayer wheel has three layers of the Six-Syllable Mantra. Inside, there are Buddhist texts in Tibetan. The upper and lower edges of the drum are decorated with a band embedded with lapis lazuli, turquoise, and coral. The counterweight is in the form of a Dharma wheel, which hangs from a delicate chain affixed to the side of the drum. Above the drum is a representation of a stupa on a lotus base.