Very Fine Brass Krishna Ritual Puja Spoon (Uddharane or Utharini)

This is the best cast brass ritual puja spoon we have seen. It has been cast using the lost wax technique and is particularly three-dimensional. The finial is cast with a standing Krishna playing his flute (the flute is missing as is nearly always the case).

The baluster-form stem leads to a hemi-spherical bowl surmounted by an addorsed pair of finely cast and chiselled parrots with curled feather tails. The parrots are decorated on both sides.

The bowl itself is deep and finely engraved with lotus-like striations.

Such spoons were used during the ritual process to distribute consecrated water and other liquids to devotees, from a vessel known as a snapana battalu.

The example here is in excellent condition.