Burmese Silver Figurative Bowl with Scenes from the Vessantara Jataka

The bowl is repoussed in high relief with six narrative scenes drawn from the Vessantara Jataka (the Jataka stories are based on the mythologised, supposed past lives of the Buddha) in which Prince Vessantara perfects the virtue of generosity required to attain enlightenment by giving away everything – including his family.

One scene shows Vessantara giving away his kingdom’s precious, rain-making white elephant before which there are two kneeling Brahmins, wearing the tall hats of officials. His wife Maddi and their two children watch. Turning the bowl anti-clockwise, the next scene shows the king gesticulating to his court and announcing the banishment of Vessantara for his actions. The king is shown cross-legged on a raised, tiered platform. The next scene shows Vessantara and Maddi seated on a chariot drawn by two horses on their way to the Vaṅka forest to where they have been banished.

The next scene (again turning anti-clockwise) shows Vessantara in the Vaṅka forest giving away his two children to the Brahmin Jujaka. The two children are shown as the diminutive figures seated behind Vessantara.

The next scene shows Maddi walking with a basket of fruit on her head and holding a stick. She is confronted by a mythical lion known in Burmese as a chinthe and a tiger In actual fact, these chinthe and tiger are deities in disguise who are there to prevent Maddi from returning to the monastery where they are staying so that she does not disturb Vessantara from giving away their children. On her return, she learns that her children have been given away and praises Vessantara for his generosity. She avoids being given away herself when a deity intervenes and takes Maddi, and then gives her back to Vessantara as a reward for his selflessness. This is perhaps the subject of the final scene.

Each of these scenes is separated by pendant scrolled foliage.

The lower border has a broad and luxuriant orchid flower motif. The upper border features a stylised scrolling orchid motif (dha-zin-gwei).

The base is plain and unadorned.

Such bowls are based on the plain, black lacquer alms bowls used by Burmese monks. These bowls are one of the eight parikkharas or possessions allowed a monk. In turn, such bowls are based on a bowl that the Buddha himself is said to have used. But silver bowls such as the example here had no ceremonial or religious use; they are purely decorative.

This bowl is without repairs, splits or dents. It was sourced from within the UK and almost certainly has been in the UK since colonial times.