Ceremonial alms bowl with stand

This elaborate object would have been displayed in a Buddhist temple, perhaps having been donated by a pious person. 

The Buddha carried a bowl in which devoted people could give him food to sustain himself. Still today, Buddhist monks go out every morning to accept offerings of food, carrying an offering bowl of iron or sometimes ceramic.

The alms bowl is a symbol of humility and nonattachment. Here, perhaps paradoxically, a non-functional alms bowl of glass rather than a more inexpensive material is presented on an ornate, glittering stand. A donor would have felt satisfaction in honoring the Buddha’s alms bowl and its meaning with such a luxurious version.