Copper & Sandalwood Tibetan Prayer Wheel
€65.88
Copper and sandalwood Tibetan prayer wheel, hand-engraved in Kathmandu with lotus and mantra motifs, filled with Om Mani Padme Hum scrolls and weighted with a chain bead for sustained rotation. Approximately 25 cm total length, 180 g, unsealed sandalwood handle.
EU orders: flat €3 customs duty (EU reform July 2026). Paid directly to the EU — no markup by Artisan d'Asie. Waived on orders ≥ €150.
Free shipping on orders over €80!
- Satisfaction Guaranteed
- No Hassle Refunds
- Secure Payments
Description
The copper and sandalwood Tibetan prayer wheel is a ritual object built for daily handling. The engraved copper cylinder sits warm in the palm, balanced on a sandalwood handle shaped for grip over the course of a practice, not for display on a shelf.
The copper cylinder measures approximately 9 centimetres in height and 4 centimetres in diameter, with the sandalwood handle bringing total length to approximately 25 centimetres. Weight is around 180 grams. The copper surface carries lotus and mantra motifs worked in repousse by hand in Kathmandu. A small copper bead on a chain hangs from the base of the cylinder: when the wheel is rotated, the bead swings outward by centrifugal force, sustaining the spin through a full rotation. The interior of the cylinder holds tightly rolled scrolls printed with Om Mani Padme Hum. The sandalwood handle is unfinished and unsealed.
Hold the handle in one hand with the cylinder at the top. With a gentle wrist rotation, the cylinder spins freely on its axis; the weighted chain sustains the motion. The wheel is used in walking practice, in seated recitation, or kept in the hand during contemplative states. Each full rotation is understood in Tibetan Buddhist practice as equivalent to the recitation of each mantra contained within.
Tibetan prayer wheels have been produced across the Himalayan plateau since the 8th century, most intensively in the workshops of Kathmandu and Lhasa. The combination of copper and sandalwood is traditional: copper holds fine engraved detail and endures extended handling; sandalwood provides a handle that warms to the hand rather than drawing heat away. Om Mani Padme Hum, the mantra of Avalokiteshvara, is the most recited mantra in Tibetan Buddhism and has been inscribed on prayer wheel scrolls for over a thousand years.
Can this prayer wheel be used by someone with no Buddhist background? Yes. The wheel is a physical object; its use requires no prior practice or formal study. It can be handled as a meditation aid, a tactile focus object, or simply as an example of Kathmandu’s metalwork tradition. The scrolls inside are sealed and do not require access or replacement under normal use.
