Enquiry about object: 10493
Burmese Round Silver Box with Ramayana Scenes
Burma (Myanmar) late 19th-early 20th century
height: approximately 6.5cm, width: approximately 13cm, weight: 222g
Provenance
private collection, England
This round, flattened box, possibly intended to hold face powder, has a tightly fitting lid. The cover is repoussed in high relief with a central panel that shows Rama and his wife Sita and to the left is the demon Ravana who abducts Sita. Rama holds aloft a bow. Well-worked trees form the background. The squat body is decorated similarly with six cartouches of figurative scenes, separated by entwined foliage and vines. The base is flat and plain.
A related squat, rounded box with a lid is illustrated in Green (2022, p. 74).
The example here is in excellent condition.
References
Fraser-Lu, S., Silverware of South-East Asia, Oxford University Press, 1989.
Fraser-Lu, S., Burmese Crafts: Past and Present, Oxford University Press, 1994.
Green, A., Burmese Silver from the Colonial Period, Ad Illisvm, 2022.
Owens, D.C., Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom, Marshall Cavendish Editions, 2020.
Tilly, H.L., The Silverwork of Burma (with Photographs by P. Klier), The Superintendent, Government Printing, 1902.
Tilly, H.L., Modern Burmese Silverwork (with Photographs by P. Klier), The Superintendent, Government Printing, 1904.
