A TIBETO CHINESE JADEITE AND SILVER PORTABLE PRAYER WHEEL, LATE QING DYNASTY Silver, jadeite, tourmaline, turquoise and other semi-precious stonesTibeto-Chinese, late Qing DynastyThis portable prayer wheel is a handsome ensemble of jadeite and silver inlaid with more jadeite, turquoise, and tourmalines as well as other semi-precious stones. The wheel spins with a 12-sided attachment.Just as the Buddha symbolically turned the wheel of the Law when he preached his first sermon and taught the way to enlightenment at Sarnath, India, so pious Tibetan Buddhists literally rotate a wheel to earn the merit that will enhance the likelihood of enlightenment. The Tibetan prayer wheel, however, is not an ordinary wheel but a cylindrical metal drum that rotates around an axis. There are two such wheels, those that are immovable and placed inside or outside a shrine and those that are carried by hand, like the present example. It is not an uncommon sight to see a Tibetan constantly rotating the hand wheel and chanting a mantra as he or she walks, in the same way the pious Catholics use their rosaries.Shape: Prayer wheel shape Dimensions: length is 19 cmWeight: 182 gramsCondition: very good condition with minor nicks to filigree silver mountingProvenance: Estate of June Montague Ficklen of Greenville, North Carolina. Mrs. Ficklen served on several boards of directors including the North Carolina Art Museum or the Greenville Art Museum. Mrs. Ficklen Still found time to travel the globe with her husband and was known for her refined taste in jewelry.Literature comparison: For a closely related portable prayer wheel see Pilgrimage and Buddhist Art, Asia Society, New York, 2010. Acc. Nr. 57.2285 - John and Berthe Ford, Baltimore; given to Walters Art Museum, 2002.漢藏翡翠鑲銀轉經筒,清代晚期銀,翡翠,電氣石,綠松石及其他礦石漢藏,清代晚期造型:轉經筒尺寸:長19 厘米重量:182 克品相:極好,銀框処有幾處刻痕來源: 北卡羅來納州格林威June Montague Ficklen 遺產。 Mrs. Ficklen 曾為包括北卡羅來納州美術館及格林威美術館等幾位館長工作。她經常抽空與其丈夫做環球旅行,并在珠寶方面有著特別的品味。