Prayer wheels are owned by Tibetan Buddhists of all classes. There are two forms of personal prayer wheels; hand held wheels with handles, and table prayer wheels, of which the present example is one. With each revolution, the prayers or mantras contained within were considered to be “sent out”, as well as facilitating the recitation of the six bija characters. Giant wheels are placed outside all Tibetan Buddhist temples for devotees to turn. Wind prayer wheels are set up on roofs or in streams with propeller blades to facilitate revolution by water or wind.

For examples of different types of Tibetan prayer wheels, see Tibetan Collection and Other Lamaist Articles in the Newark Museum, 1950, pls. II, III and IV. For a pair of 18th Century Imperial Chinese gilt-copper examples, very similar in decorative scheme to the present object, see A Special Exhibition of Buddhist Gilt Votive Objects, 1995, National Palace Museum, Taipei, catalogue no. 14. There appears to be no other published example of a Qianlong-marked cloisonné enamel example.