Enquiry about object: 7675
Ancient Eastern Javanese Engraved, Parcel-Gilt Silver Bowl
East Java, Indonesia 13th-14th century
height: 5.9cm, diameter: 10cm, weight: 174g
Provenance
private collection, London; Christie's New York; Estate of Paul Walter
This rounded bowl of cast silver is from 13th-14th century Eastern Java, Indonesia.
It has a smooth, rounded body, and an applied ring foot. A border on the outside rim has been engraved with flowers and leafy swirls against a tooled background reminiscent of silver from China’s Tang Dynasty period. The engraving here is somewhat similar to that on a silver bowl illustrated in Polak (2023, p. 72) found in Lumajang in East Java and similarly attributed to the 13th-14th century.
The interior is engraved with a complex roundel of two dragons or naga chasing each other. The roundel has been parcel-gilded.
The surface area of the bowl retains some encrustation. It is free of any dents.
References
van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, J.E., Indo-Javanese Metalwork, Linden-Museum Stuttgart, 1984.
Polak, J., Ancient Indonesian Silver of the Central and Eastern Javanese Periods 750-1550: A Small Collection, Documentation Centre for Ancient Indonesian Art, Amsterdam 2023.
