Vessels as Containers of Potential

Single vessels are fragments of greater stories. Such single objects and suites of ritual vessels feature in paintings as significant components of the ritual invocation of the divine and are status markers of ritual masters. Because of the specificity of their use, single vessels and suites of formal ritual vessels are discussed in Sanskrit, Newari, and Tibetan ritual manuals.1 By contrast, domestic vessels are rarely seenin other art forms and are hardly mentioned in historic or even modern literature.2 When vessels are depicted, they appear as small details in murals, on painted furniture (fig. 2), as components of medical treatises, and (more rarely) in thangkas (fig. 3). The dearth of publications featuring contextual images of domestic vessels contrasts with the volume of vessels that exist and are illustrated in recent publications. These vessels, employed in daily use and for special occasions, continue to be produced today. Some of the materials and fabrication techniques of two particular pitcher forms are described here, along with how they function in a wider cultural context and ultimately transform from utilitarian ewers into prestige objects through international diplomatic gifts desired by collectors, historically and currently.

Fabrication

Unlike in neighboring regions where large numbers of sunbaked-clay or fired ceramic vessels were produced, throughout the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, and Mongolian steppes the primary materials of such vessels were historically leather, wood, and metal. Leather was the most abundant. Both its animal origins and its lack of rarity branded leather as a quotidian material, less suitable as an elite marker unless elaborately painted, tooled, or gilded. In many regions of Tibet and the Mongolian steppes, wood was (and continues to be) relatively scarce. Thus, wooden vessels, frequently adorned with metal, became highly valued. 

Carvers hollow wood burls to produce rounded vessels prized for the wood’s beauty. The contorted grain of wood burls creates durability beyond straight-growth wood. To compensate for the lack of multidirectional strength, vessels that feature vertical rather than rounded sides are pieced from flat or slightly curved wooden sections that are fastened together, barrel-like, with reed, wood, cloth, or metal bands.3 

Traditional wooden butter churns retain this long, tubular form, relatively narrow in circumference, that enables the transformation of milk into more stable food products such as butter, ghee, and cheese—vital to contemporary and historic survival among nomadic pastoralists the world over. The significance of the butter-churn form elevates a straight-sided silhouette to one with greater epicurean and social meaning. The originally functional fastening bands have evolved into decorative elements retained in other materials. 

Throughout the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, and Mongolian steppe, metal vessels are made using pliable metal alloys that have been hammered into sheets and formed around a mold. Called repoussé, this hammering technique can produce smooth surfaces, raised relief, and pierced open work. Metal surfaces may be embellished with incising, true and false damascening, appliquéd metal, and inset stones.4 

The pitcher shown here showcases an incised scrolling foliate pattern on the vessel’s body. Appliquéd plaques feature the goddess Durga with her lion mount, flanked by two makaras (the mythical hybrid elephant-crocodile form that signals the importance of celestial and terrestrial waters). Below Durga is a kirtimukha “face-of-glory” (symbolizing celestial waters), surrounded by the dikpala (guardians of the four cardinal directions). Appliquéd metal roundels featuring the Chinese character shou (signaling longevity), bands of lotus petals (representing purity), and ruyi wish-granting clouds circle the vessel, along with carved and inset carnelian beads. 

Fanciful Forms: Dombo and Sengmao hu 

The scalloped flange at its front is a distinctive feature of this pitcher. The front-flange model typically has vertical sides and may lack an applied spout.5 In Mongolian, this model is called dombo (fig. 4).6 Variations on the dombo include both the addition or elimination of either a spout or handle. Spouts may be plain, but if ornamented are typically modeled as makara. The handle may be a decorative dragon, a plain fixed or hinged metal handle, or a flexible chain or cord.7 These two paintings illustrate rear-flange forms (figs. 2 and 3), which here is designated by the Chinese term sengmao hu (literally “monk’s cap vessel”). It may have a spout or only a pulled lip to narrow the stream. Rear-flange pitchers always feature a handle, which may be modeled as a dragon or foliate shape, or remain unadorned. Rear-flange pitchers may have relatively vertical sides or a swollen, rounded belly.

Both front- and rear-flange forms are sometimes termed monk’s cap pitchers. This silhouette references hats worn both by the Nyingma and the Kagyu religious orders, including the pezha (a type worn by Padmasambhava and the highest Nyingma hierarchs) (fig. 5), rigdzin chinzha (worn by Nyingmapa with a ranking of drubdra, drubla, or densa), and the zhanak and zhamar (worn respectively by the black- and red-hat religious orders of the Karmapa).8 How might this model inform its function?

Functions

Popular drinks potentially poured from these pitchers include fermented beverages of a range of beers (chang) or liquor (Mongolian: araki; Tibetan: arak).9 Historically, unornamented versions of front- and rear-flange pitchers were used on a daily basis. But what were the celebratory occasions when these ornate forms would be employed? 

A pegam chest displays a rear-flange monk’s cap pitcher included as part of a greeting in which Geluk religious order monks (distinguished by their yellow crested hats) exit a building while holding up welcoming jeldar scarves and a fruit-filled bowl to greet a group of laymen (fig. 2). The front layman offers a jeldar scarf leading a riches-laden carriage. The rear-flange monk’s cap pitcher is placed on a table next to the bifurcated chemar bo offering vessel.10 The cart’s riches include cloth bolts and vessels filled with coral and ivory, illustrating economic exchanges. 

Seasonal celebrations—specific to particular regions—such as New Year (losar) and summer festivals are convened when the weather is best and foodstuffs are plentiful. Festivals often include archery, horse racing, gambling, dancing, wrestling, and feasting.11 For example, the Mongolian Naadam festival showcases summer games and includes brewing araki alcohol.12 The Durga ornament on the front-flange pitcher suggests the vessel featured here would be used for rites specific to Durga, such as the annual festival of Dashain, celebrated by many in Nepal during the lunar months of Aswin or Kartik (corresponding to the solar months of September or October). 

Monk’s cap pitchers also are employed in worship of fierce deities, like Palden Lhamo. In a painting of Makzor Gyelmo (fig. 3), a monk’s cap pitcher is placed next to a blue-footed platter containing white foodstuffs. A wide variety of vessels are included, such as a vaselike pot (bumpa or kalasha) in the lap of the woman at middle left.13 Sometimes these pitchers are called “alcohol vessels” (chang zhi gangpa). Note that alcohol is preferred by fierce deities, such as Durga and Palden Lhamo.14 

Transformations

The value of front- and rear-flange domestic pitchers is recognized both by individuals within their originating traditions and by ruling elites of neighboring powers. Both rudimentary and elaborate customized cases nestle these treasures to protect them when stored and encase them for travel.15 Another measure of their value is the transformation of their form into rarified materials not available within the Himalayas, Tibetan Plateau, and Mongolian steppe.

Both front- and rear-flange monk’s cap pitchers were created in porcelain, cloisonné, lacquer, and jade in Imperial Chinese workshops.16 Some were made for use within the Chinese Ming and Qing courts, while others were intended gifts to elite Tibetans and Mongolians, as was the case with two dombo examples, one in gilded silver and the other a Kangxi-period sancai (three-color) now in the Tibet Museum, Lhasa.17 Ming dynasty rear-flange monk’s cap pitchers are found in the collection of the former summer palace of the Dalai Lama, Norbulingka (fig. 6), in cloisonné and blue-and-white porcelain.18 Even if the earliest known forms of this type of vessel remain a mystery, by the Yongle period (1403–1424) rear-flange monk’s cap pitchers had gained attention at the highest levels of Imperial China.19 Farther afield, the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) so valued a Yongle-period Jingdezhen white porcelain monk’s cap pitcher, that he incised the work with the date 1053 AH (or 1643–1644 CE), demonstrating the potential of this form as a highly valued collectible—possibly acquired through diplomatic exchanges of gifts. It is intriguing to consider the shared Mongolian ancestry of the Mughals in India and several significant Qing emperors as part of this story.

Grossly underresearched, historical clues as to the forms and functions of elevated domestic vessels offer tantalizing glimpses into the constantly evolving nature of humanity’s development. Celebrations of individual life rites such as birth, marriage, death, and graduations are other moments when front- or rear-flange monk’s cap vessels may be employed in Himalayan life, for example for the presentation of “proposal alcohol” (longchang). Alternatively, communal occasions like welcoming the New Year, summer tournaments, and even political exchanges at the highest levels may also be appropriate moments to bring forth glorious monk’s cap vessels. It is fascinating that this functionality connects the most concrete necessities of survival (such as eating or invoking fierce deities for protection) with the most abstract social aspirations (brokering of interfamilial, interregional, and international relationships) that transcend surviving to signal thriving.