Beschreibung:

PROPERTY FROM THE NOBLE SILVER COLLECTIONA SILVER BOWL WITH SCENES FROM THE JATAKA TALESBY MSY BROS (MG SHWE YON BROS), RANGOON (YANGON), DATED 1896 Two inscriptions on the rim of the bowl: "Presented to the Officers, 74th Fd. By. Royal Artillery, by Major G.P. Owen, R.A. Jany 1891-Decr 1896" and "Sold by them with authority of the C.O. Feb. 1950". The bowl's underside has the insignia of a seated deer used by Mg Shwe Yon Bros (formerly known as MSY Bros before c.1899). 4 7/8 in. (12.5 cm) high; 7 1/2 in. (19 cm) diameter; 28 troy oz (873 grams) approximate weight FootnotesThe 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.