Burmese Silver Bowl

Repoussed High-grade Silver Bowl (Thabeik)

This particularly fine repoussed bowl is of noticeably high-grade silver. The shape is unusual and may suggest Pegu rather than Rangoon or Mandalay origins. The central panel shows a variety of figures in traditional Burmese dress. Moist probably, the imagery draws on traditional Burmese folk lore. The figures are against a very fine, tooled ground – also unusual among Burmese silver bowls of the period.

The lower frieze is of a particularly finely rendered and elaborate repeated leaf motif. The upper frieze is unusual in that it is not contained within a straight border but has a lower scalloped border. It features fine, scrolling foliage.

The base is engraved within a Burmese

chinthei lion figure within a roundel. Some claim that such designs engraved to the bases of bowls are ‘signatures’ of the maker. It is possible that they might also be purely decorative.