GREAT! Museum piece! Very old ghurra, churning rod holder, Nepal, 1850-1900

GREAT! A museum piece, this very old ghurra, churning rod holder. Large in shape and a beautiful patina matching its use and age. You don't often come across them this beautiful! The ghurra is placed on a custom-made stand that is not visible from the front.

Length: 32 cm, only the ghurra
Weight: 712 grams
Origin: Nepal
Date: 1850-1900
Provenance: Obtained from a private collection in Flanders. Name will be provided to the buyer

Below is some more information about churning rod holders.

For centuries, the Nepalese mountain dwellers used the ghurra (churning rod holder) as a tool to churn milk into (clarified) butter. This ritual is based on the age-old Hindu myth, the Samudra Manthana: the churning of the primeval ocean by gods and demons. This myth not only tells the story of creation, but also depicts the battle between good and evil. Through the use of the ghurra, the act of churning is transcended into a sacred event; the ritual confirmation of the Samudra Manthana. For the Nepalese, the churning process is 'darshan', a sacred time of day to be blessed by their gods. The decorations on the ghurras refer to the gods of the Hindu pantheon and are, as it were, the connecting signs to the intangible mystery of the universe. Ghurras are therefore an expression of a transcendent reality, hidden under the veil of observable reality.

Ghurras have a round shape at the bottom that represents the sun disk (chakra), symbol of Vishnu, the patron god of the country and the people of Nepal. The sun disk represents the miraculous power of the universal soul, which creates, sustains and destroys in all spheres of the universe. On the sun disk there is a mostly vertical extension in the form of a lingam, symbol of Shiva (the god of destruction and re-creation). This part is made up of symmetrical figures with symbolic elements. No detail in the representation is a personal invention, everything has a ritual meaning.

For information about the ghurras, use was made of the exhibition catalogue published in 2004: Ghurras, gods from the Himalaya - Nepalese folk art. Composition and editing Annemarie De Gendt and Paul De Smedt.