Butter lamp

Museum number:
9-21854
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21090021854
Alternate number:
BY.T-18 (previous number) and T-18 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.4737
Description:
Silver butter lamp, for use on the altar of a distinguished Lama or wealthy lay Buddhist, It is an example of the best quality of Tibetan silver work. The wick is formed from unprocessed cotton and a straw. The cotton is wrapped around the straw, and the straw set in the small hole in the middle of the basin of the lamp. The top of the wick should be slightly above the rim of the lamp. The lamp is then filled with clarified Dri butter. The dri is the female of the yak.
Donor:
Estate of G. Eleanore Murray, Estate of Theos C. Bernard, and Theos C. Bernard
Collection place:
Tibet
Verbatim coll. place:
Tibet
Collector:
Theos C. Bernard
Materials:
Silver (metal)
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
5.0 Use not specified (Ritual, Pageantry, and Recreation)
Production date:
19th-20th century
Accession date:
March 12, 2004
Context of use:
The lamp is placed on an altar as an offering to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Lamas represented there.See also: 9-21794, 9-21931.
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled Butter lamp, accession number 9-21854, described as Silver butter lamp, for use on the altar of a distinguished Lama or wealthy lay Buddhist, It is an example of the best quality of Tibetan silver work. The wick is formed from unprocessed cotton and a straw. The cotton is wrapped around the straw, and the straw set in the small hole in the middle of the basin of the lamp. The top of the wick should be slightly above the rim of the lamp. The lamp is then filled with clarified Dri butter. The dri is the female of the yak.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled Butter lamp, accession number 9-21854, described as Silver butter lamp, for use on the altar of a distinguished Lama or wealthy lay Buddhist, It is an example of the best quality of Tibetan silver work. The wick is formed from unprocessed cotton and a straw. The cotton is wrapped around the straw, and the straw set in the small hole in the middle of the basin of the lamp. The top of the wick should be slightly above the rim of the lamp. The lamp is then filled with clarified Dri butter. The dri is the female of the yak.

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