JAMBATI ANTIQUE SINGING BOWLS

Basic Shape:  Gracefully Curved Wall, Small Flat Bottom, Wide Plain Inward-Facing Lip

Vocal Range:  4 Octaves (Typically 2^nd and 3^rd).Ease of Play:  Good, Very Responsive

Size: Large

Diameter: 9 - 16 inches (23 – 40 cm)

Height: 4 – 8 inches (10 – 20cm)

Weight: 2.2 – 14.3 lb    (1 – 6.5 kg)

Price Range:

Large: £400 - £2,000 ($640 - $3,200)

Average Price: £800 - £1,500 ($1,280 - $2,400)

Huge (Premium Quality): £2,000 - £5,500 ($3,200 - $8,800)

Jambati Singing Bowls are the largest and heaviest of the singing bowl family, and arguably the most beautiful.  These stunning singing bowls are characterized by quite high and gracefully curved walls, a small flat bottom, and typically a generous triangulated inward-facing lip that may be plain or grooved.  In some bowls the lip is merely the sheared top of the wall, and does not turn inward.  Decoration is minimal and usually confined to a few simple incised lines forming a band or collar close to the outer rim, and several incised concentric circles radiating from the centre of the basin.

These hand-beaten bowls nearly always have attractive hammer markings A

bowl would have been a major expense for its original Himalayan owner.

Most of the old Jambati bowls around today are thought to date from the 17^th to 19^th century.  Many are found in an excellent state of preservation for their age…evidence that they have been well cared for, or put to a ceremonial, ritual or musical use.  Larger bowls may also have been used for grain storage during their lifetime.

Jambati singing bowls are capable of producing wonderfully low and sonorous tones with a long sustain.  Fundamental notes generally range from the 2^nd to 4^th octave when struck with a padded mallet.  The rim note is usually the same if played with a suede ringer, but may be higher if a wooden one is used.  Many bowls have complex multiple overtones.  Some fundamental notes, such as F and G, are fairly abundant, while others like A and D are extremely illusive.  Low second octave bowls are particularly sought-after.

Some people choose only to strike their Jambati bowl, while others prefer to play them.  Both methods require a little practice to realize a bowl's full potential.  A medium weight Jambati can be held in the hand and played around the rim with a suede ringer, but the larger bowls are too heavy and need to be placed on a mat or cushion.  Jambati bowls are not known for their talking ability, but many are capable of producing vibrant surface patterns and spectacular fountains when played around the rim with a little water inside.  This is particularly true of large bowls with a low octave note.  Jambati bowls are commonly used in a variety of healing therapies including chakra balancing and sound bathing.

This is my all-time favourite bowl type, and if I could only have one singing bowl it would be a large Jambati!  These handsome antique bowls look and sound wonderful, and no collection would be complete without at least one.