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HAND-CRAFTED COPPER HINDU OBLATION DISH/TRAY |
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Although unfamiliar with Hindu "abhisheka" (devotions and ritual), I was intrigued when a friend showed me a similar tray cast in bronze which is used in personal daily and temple rituals. More traditional and ancient "soma sutras" can be very ornate and detailed with symbolic images of deities. |
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DEVOTIONAL INDIAN-HINDU COPPER DISHThis dish is actually a copper "abhisheka" collecting-tray. |
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It's not often that I am at a lack for words in describing a project I've worked on. In this case, I had a clear idea of how to create the piece, but it's actual use and significance are beyond my understanding. I crafted this piece for my new Indian friend in New Jersey. He showed me a few which were cast in bronze, and I fashioned this simple "New Englander" version. I used lead-free silver solder in the construction, because I understood that the libations of the tray may be consumed as a part of the Hindu Rite. "Abhisheka" is a Sanskrit term comparable to puja, yagya and arati that denotes: a devotional activity; an enacted prayer, rite of passage and/or religious rite or ritual. |
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