Shan Burmese Colonial Silver Goblet

This tall, solid silver goblet is of conventional form with a splayed, slightly domed foot, a thin stem and a bowl to hold the liquid.

It is chased and engraved on the foot and bowl with flowers, geometric borders, and around the bowl with cartouches of performing figures in Burmese dress. Included is a cartouche that has been finely engraved with the initials of probably the original owner.

Ostensibly Indian, such a goblet is in fact an example of colonial Shan silversmithing work, the Shan states being located in eastern Burma. They have some significance in the history of colonial silverwork on the sub-continent. Shan silverwork produced for British patrons seems to date to around the middle of the nineteenth century and so predates most other extant Burmese silverwork produced for the European market.

The goblet is in fine condition.