A large late 19th/early 20th century Burmese/Shan silver offering bowl or basin with flattened rim embossed with 'floral and crane' design, interior with leaf-scrolls and the well occupied by a crane in a roundel surrounded by crane and floral design. Exterior with four cartouche-like pierced silver emblems; on a low retracted footrim. Unmarked. Weight 3839 g. H. 14.5 cm Diam. 41 cm.
Provenance: Ambassador Sternberg’s Asian art collection. Stationed in Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia in the period 2006–2011 Sternberg had a lifelong passion for Asian art. The bowl/basin was acquired in 2009. The bowl/basin was an heirloom from a Sawbwa (hereditary ruler) from a minor chiefdom close to Hopong, Shan state, Myanmar. Used in connection with face washing ceremonies of Buddha statues in the family shrine and local temples at special occasions.
Asian decorative art, 6 December 2023
Not sold