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39. Rice Measuring Bowl
Brass/Metal
Height: 11.4 cm
Twentieth century
Catalogue number 39.
Accession number 88.296.
Such bowls are used to scoop out a measured unit of rice for daily cooking. They are made in various sizes, usually fractions of a sher, the measure used for grain in Bengal. These bowls are also used to worship Lakshmi, who is embodied as a bowl of rice set in the center of a rice-paste design on the floor. During the wedding ceremony, sindoor powder is poured from a rice measuring bowl by the groom in the parting of his bride's hair to accept her as his wife. This bowl is ornamented with garlands, fish swimming in water, rows of beads, and a solitary scorpion.
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