A missing link singing bowl

It is a big challenge to place the antique singing bowls in a continuous timeline. I have done so by first separating them by type then looking at the details of each type. I can often place one type earlier than another and find some overlap between types.

In this process, I look for bowls that seem to link different periods or styles. One such bowl is item M035. This singing bowl fits with the category of special engraved bowls, which feature lines around the body of the bowl, an indented lip and usually geometric patterns engraved around the rim.

Importantly, the bowls all share the same contour; the round shape on the inside of the bowl where the bowl was shaped around a wooden mold. Even though M035 does not have geometric engravings, its profile matches the other special engraved bowls that do have geometric engravings. It is an important group of bowls, some of the most finely crafted ever and among the best sounding singing bowls ever made. 

The unique thing about M035 is that it shares certain features with earlier types of bowls. Due to these overlapping features, it can be a missing link connecting the special engraved bowls with earlier types. 

My first clue was that M035 seems to be one of the oldest of its type. It has deep crusted oxidation of a 1,000 year old bronze and even though it has been cleaned, former deep black patina can still be seen. More than the color, it has the wide flat bottom and less rounded proportions, just like an earlier type: the folded circle and dot bowls.

The proof I needed to know if M035 (and by extension other bowls of its type) was related to those earlier bowls was to find out if the metal has been folded. Under high magnification, I was able to do just that.

The photo below shows the crease of the fold just below the rim. These creases are found around the outside of the bowl. This is a unique feature of early singing bowls and their Persian counterparts. They have an outwardly folded lip. The crease is completely hidden in manufacturing. Hammering the metal closes any gap but the crease begins to separate after several centuries.

The special engraved bowls are still too young for the folds to separate but on this early example, I find clear evidence that they were indeed made by folding the rim. This matches the physical evidence of the bowls. They have heavy wear patterns and deep oxidation caused over many centuries.

These findings place the special engraved bowls soon after the earlier circle and dot bowls, somewhere around the 14th century. The circle and dot bowls are earlier, from the 11-12th century, so if the timeline is more compressed, the special engraved bowls may be closer to the 12th century in origin.

If M035 is one of the earliest special engraved bowls, sharing manufacturing methods with the earlier circle and dot bowls, then another bowl may be one of the later examples: M034 seems to be one of the later bowls from this workshop.

Made on the same mold but with a distinctly taller shape and different engravings, M034 seems to have been made by a later artisan. It may represent a third generation taking over the trade in this shop. The first generation would have produced the earlier type like M035, the second generation made the more common rounded type we see with the triangle engravings and the third generation seems to have made a departure again to make a new type of bowl. 

As I continue examining the collection, I will look for more missing links and see what other connections become apparent.