Enquiry about object: 2727
Sri Lankan Silver ‘Moonstone’ Dish
Kandy, Sri Lanka circa 1920
diameter: 20.8cm, weight: 262g
Provenance
UK art market
– scroll down to see further images –
This silver dish is repoussed and chased to a design based on the semi-circular ‘moon stones’, here doubled, that are found at the threshold of a stone entrance or stairway to many Sri Lankan temples and former palaces. An outer rim shows elephants and other animals. The inner rims show a repeated hamsa motif and various swirling vegetal motifs, all against a very finely tooled background.
The central roundel is unembellished but surrounded by a double lotus petal border.
The reverse of rim is stamped with what seems to be a mark in the form of a money and a separate ‘KAA’ mark which is a colonial silver control mark used in Ceylon.
The last image shows a carved moonstone at the start of the steps of the Anuradhapura palace, photographed around 1900.
References
Coomaraswamy, A.K., Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, Pantheon Books, 1956 reprint of the 1908 edition.