
Dora Tan
Head of Sale, Specialist
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Sold for US$8,925 inc. premium
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Head of Sale, Specialist

International Director
The figural quality and sense of movement displayed throughout this work by MSY Bros, the leading silversmiths of their time, is exceptional. Kinnaras are a class of wondrous celestial musicians, half-woman-half-bird, that feature prominently in mainland Southeast Asian Buddhist art and architecture. Here, the sons of Maung Shwe Yon have taken considerable artistic license to cater to their foreign patrons by juxtaposing scenes from two jatakas in which kinnaras feature heavily: the Canda-Kinnara Jataka and the Takkariya Jataka. In the first, a king on a hunting excursion is joined by two female courtiers and another hunter, characters that are seemingly absent from the original text. These idiosyncrasies are likely explained by the bowl's creation as a souvenir showcasing an engaging subject from Burmese material culture, rather than a typical ceremonial offering bowl conveying Buddhist didactics to Burmese laity.
Published:
Owens, Burmese Silver Art, pp.143-5, no.S142, figs.4.33-8.