A RARE WHITE JADE RITUAL BELL, GHANTAIncised Qianlong four-character mark and of the periodThe spreading domed body of the bell carved with a concentric band of vajra set between a beaded border below a band of florets and vajra, the shoulder carved in relief with a band of petal lappets, each enclosing alhansa character, the handle modelled with a half vajra finial surmounting the face of Buddha below, the semi-translucent stone of pale green tone, the reign mark carved in a line above the shoulder, box.19.5cm (7 5/8in) highProvenance: 清乾隆 白玉金剛鈴「乾隆年製」楷書刻款The ritual bell or ghanta, is described in teachings as 'proclaiming the sound of emptiness' and it also represents the female aspect of wisdom and truth in voidness of form and emptiness. The ghanta together with the vajra, were important Buddhist ritual implements which were held in the right and left hands respectively to make elaborate ritual movements and they are also attributes of Buddhist deities.Both are usually made of bronze so jade examples are far rarer. See a set of 15th century Tibetan bronze ghanta and vajra exhibited in Om-mani-padme-hum: Tibetan Buddhist Art in the National Palace Museum, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue, Taipei, 2016, pp.226-227. A set of closely related Qianlong marked jade ghanta and vajra was gifted by the Qianlong Emperor to the 8th Dalai Lama, now housed in the Potala Palace Treasures Museum, illustrated in Budala gong: zhen bao guan tu lu [Catalogue of Treasures from the Potala Palace], Beijing, 2013, pp.244-245. See three other related jade ritual bells, Qianlong mark and period, in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated inpendium of Collections in the Palace Museum: Jade 9 Qing Dynasty, Beijing, 2011, pls.271-273.A slightly larger (19cm high) celadon jade ritual bell, Qianlong incised four-character mark and period was sold at Christie's Hong Kong, 29 May 2019, lot 3033.此鈴為藏傳佛教法器，以仿銅質金剛鈴而製。參考一對十五世紀西藏金剛鈴與金剛杵，曾展於國立故宮博物院《唵嘛呢叭咪吽—院藏藏傳佛教文物》特展，見展覽圖錄，臺北，2016年，頁226-227。金剛鈴在修法中常常與金剛杵成組使用，通常修行者右手持金剛杵，左手搖金剛鈴，象徵著智慧與方便雙運。鈴内腔空，表萬法皆空，鈴聲則宣示空性。隨著時代的更迭，原本作爲一種象徵意義的法器，製作也越來越具有裝飾性。見一對布達拉宮藏青白玉金剛鈴與金剛杵，與此金剛鈴同樣刻有「乾隆年製」款，由乾隆皇帝賜予八世達賴喇嘛，著錄在《布達拉宮珍寶館圖錄》，北京，2013年，頁244-245。另清宮舊藏中有三件造型、紋飾與此類似的乾隆款玉鈴，見《故宮博物院藏品大系：஍...