ANTIQUE 20thC BURMESE REPOUSSÉ SOLID SILVER "MAHAJANAKA JATAKA" BOWL
Antique 20th Century Burmese (Myanmar) solid silver bowl in circular form, finely chased with detailed scenes from the Mahajanaka Jataka. In the Mahajanaka Jataka, the bodhisattva who is later reborn as Siddhartha Gautama perfects the virtue of vigor (virya). Opening with a war and ending with the bodhisattva's reign of 7,000 years of peace, the jataka's representation in Burmese silver never disappoints in providing a great visual spectacle of caparisoned war elephants and cavalry.
The underside engraved with the makers mark "MG. SHWE YON BROS GOLD & SILVERSMITH RANGOON". Acid tested, showing a 900+ silver standard.
Reference Number: DO11315
Antique 20th Century Burmese (Myanmar) solid silver bowl in circular form, finely chased with detailed scenes from the Mahajanaka Jataka. In the Mahajanaka Jataka, the bodhisattva who is later reborn as Siddhartha Gautama perfects the virtue of vigor (virya). Opening with a war and ending with the bodhisattva's reign of 7,000 years of peace, the jataka's representation in Burmese silver never disappoints in providing a great visual spectacle of caparisoned war elephants and cavalry.
The underside engraved with the makers mark "MG. SHWE YON BROS GOLD & SILVERSMITH RANGOON". Acid tested, showing a 900+ silver standard.
Reference Number: DO11315
Antique 20th Century Burmese (Myanmar) solid silver bowl in circular form, finely chased with detailed scenes from the Mahajanaka Jataka. In the Mahajanaka Jataka, the bodhisattva who is later reborn as Siddhartha Gautama perfects the virtue of vigor (virya). Opening with a war and ending with the bodhisattva's reign of 7,000 years of peace, the jataka's representation in Burmese silver never disappoints in providing a great visual spectacle of caparisoned war elephants and cavalry.
The underside engraved with the makers mark "MG. SHWE YON BROS GOLD & SILVERSMITH RANGOON". Acid tested, showing a 900+ silver standard.
Reference Number: DO11315
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The preeminent silversmith Maung Shwe Yon had three sons—Maung Shwe Bin, Maung Thu Hlaing, and Maung Yin Maung—who were all very talented. Together with their father, they formed Maung Shwe Yon & Sons based in Rangoon (Yangon), and around the time of his death in c.1889, they changed the company name to Mg. Shwe Yon Bros. By the time the present bowl was made in 1899, the company was a top-tier vendor, employing other exceptional goldsmiths and silversmiths. This exquisite bowl exemplifies the superior quality of the Mg. Shwe Yon Bros enterprise. Unfortunately, no corporate records or catalogues from Mg. Shwe Yon Bros are known to exist, although there may be traces of the company's history buried deep in British colonial or Burmese archives that have yet to be found.
This item has been published - Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom, 2020, p.66, no.S138, fig.3.42.
Bonhams, The Noble Silver Collection: Treasures from the Burmese Silver Age, 14 – 24 March 2022, New York, lot 907.
CONDITION
In Great Condition - Wear expected with age. Please refer to photographs.
SIZE
Height: 8 cm // 3.15 inches
Diameter: 14 cm // 5.51 inches
Weight: 305 grams // 9.81 ozt