Image title: Miniature Lock with Chorten and Prayer Wheel

This Iron sculpture shows an image of a Miniature Lock with Chorten/Chörten and Prayer Wheel, from the 16th century origination from Tibet.—Materials used: Iron.

Description: The all-pervasiveness of the chaitya in Buddhist daily life is graphically illustrated by this intriguing lock. Presiding above the mechanism is a tiny, five centimeter high Chörten/Chorten, complete with dome, a five- stepped pinnacle, and an emerging central pillar crowned with the crest jewel representing the Buddha’s ushnisha (cranial knob). The Buddhist character of the lock is further emphasized by the tiny functional prayer wheel which is attached to it.

Notes: This intriguing lock demonstrates the stupa’s omnipresence in daily life. Presiding above the mechanism is a tiny, five centimeter high Chörten, complete with dome, a five-stepped pinnacle, an emerging central pillar, and terminal jewel. The chaitya also features a tiny functional prayer wheel imagined to contain printed prayers which ascend to the gods as the wheel is rotated. Even the trilobed key end invokes the Three Jewels: Buddha, Dharma, and Samgha (the Teacher, his doctrine, and the monastic community).

Gallery information:

The Patan Museum is located on the Durbar square of Patan (Lalitpur/Lalitapura, Kathmandu, Nepal) which is associated Keshav Narayan Chowk (Keshavnarayan)—a form of Lord Vishnu. Being listed as a World Heritage Site, the whole of Durbar square is filled with exquisite temples, sculptures and other ancient structures, of which the ancient history history can be traced to the Malla Kings of Lalitpur. It is an important site for both Buddhism and Hinduism.