Ritual Vessel

Orissa

Brass alloy

A beautiful patinated tantric ritual vessel with a stupa shaped lid. Symbols related to water and fertility and depicted including rows of grains, two step wells in cruciform shape, sun and moon symbols and five water Goddesses.

The  Sätiasarā are non-Brahminic river deities or water nymphs worshiped primarily in rural Maharashtra. They have no distinctive mythology, and their cult lacks temples and priests, festivals and places of pilgrimage. They are considered sisters, depicted up to seven in number and are sometimes accompanied by Mhaskoba, their brother. Little is known about their mythology and they are associated with fertility. If angered, they are considered to harm women, mostly related to maternity, and are responsible for infertility, miscarriage or death of infants. To appease them, up to thirty-four different items such as fruits, flowers, small trinkets, and cosmetics, seven at a time, must be placed in seven new baskets and deposited in a waterhole by the river. This vessel was probably used as part of the puja (prayer) ritual to appease the Goddesses.

Size (cms): 14.5(H) x 11(W) x 11(D)
Size (inches): 5.5(H) x 4.5(W) x 4.5(D)