Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 31 cm
Order Number: MHSAII12

Cambodian “Blimbling” (starfruit) beads.

Over 500 years old.

Bead making has been a highly valued skill throughout the world from the earliest times, at least for 40,000 years. Techniques invented by the Ancient Egyptians and Romans are still used today.

They have been used to guard against evil and as adornment. They can indicate a person’s rank and marital status. They are portable wealth and are traded. They are used as amulets in some societies

They are used by religions. The word bead comes from the Anglo-Saxon biddan, meaning to pray. Roman Catholic rosary beads contain a set number of beads for counting prayers, for example 150 for the psalms. Tibetan Buddhist and Hindu rosaries have 108 beads.

The makers guard their techniques closely. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Venetian Doges monopolised world glass making. in 1292 the glass makers were moved to the island of Murano and forbidden to reveal their secrets or even leave. If they did, the punishment was death.

Beads can be made from anything: bone, horn, glass, wood, metals such as gold, silver, bronze, and brass, ceramic, ivory, seeds, berries, stones, shells, pearls, coral, amber, jet and even plastic.

Map of Cambodia.

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Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 36 cm
Order Number: MHSAII13

Cambodian glass beads.

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Material: Bronze
Style: Burma or Laos
Size: Height 4.5 cm
Order Number: MHSABOW1

They are called ‘opium weights’ but this is not strictly correct. They were used in Burmese, Thai and Cambodian markets in the 16th-19th centuries to weigh food and everyday goods, as well as gold, silver and pearls. It is not known when they first came into existence.

They were cast in Laos too and the elephant became the motif of Laotian standard weights. Laos was once called ‘country of millions of elephants.’

The British associated these countries with opium, but is a myth that they were used to weigh opium. Goods were measured using two baskets or trays hanging from a beam. The weight was put in one basket and the goods were placed in the other basket.

Visitors to the court of Pegu in the 16th century mentioned that silver was weighed with ‘curious animal’ weights.  In 1855 an emissary of Queen Victoria called Yule illustrated one in his book, A Narrative of the Mission Sent by the Governor General of India to the Court of Ava.

Boldly modelled opium weights were cast by the lost wax (cire perdue) method. They have two parts, an animal or bird and a base, which is about the same weight. The base may be hexagonal, rectangular, octagonal or circular. The bases are small platforms on which the animal or bird stands. In the 19th century they became steeper and feathers, manes and tails became more flamboyant. The larger ones may have had a separate mould. Many are incised with horizontal lines. Some are worn down through use.

Bronze was used, an alloy of copper, tin and zinc. 16th and 17th century weights are reddish because of a higher proportion of copper being used in the alloy. In the late 17th and 18th centuries they used more tin (10 to 40%),  giving a slightly silvery-whitish colour. Late 18th and 19th centuries have a light yellowish colour. Late 19th and 20th century ones of brass have a deep yellowish colour. Bronze weights stopped being made shortly after the British defeated Burma in 1885. They were gradually replaced by round iron weights.

The units of measurement do not correspond to western scales of measurement, but there is a proportional relationship between the various sizes in a series. They came in a set of ten. They were checked and legalised by a stamp or seal (usually difficult to read through use) given by the king or his officials in each town.

Designs are birds or quadrupeds. The larger ones were usually made with greater attention to detail, but the larger and medium weights are more common than the smaller sizes.

The most common is a hintha bird or Brahmani duck, also called a hamsa. It was the emblem of the Mon kingdom, which once ruled Lower Burma. A duck’s beak and feet and a flamboyant, crested comb, with 3 to 4 layers of ruffles down the back of the neck is common. The beak is often holding foliage, worm or a pearl. The eye is usually outlined. The head is crowned by a two or three-point curling crest. The bird usually has a round, protruding breast and wings close to the body are often decorated with curved lines to indicate the main feathers. The wings and tail usually curl gracefully upwards. The tail may be short and stumpy. Back and tail feathers may have parallel curved lines. The feet may not be visible and the bird appears to be sitting on the base. Metal under the tail may add support. Head and feathers may be emphasised by incising.

Another popular animal is the to-aung, with the face of a lion and body of a bull, horns and the hooves and tail of a horse. It is often wrongly referred to as the chinthe or Burmese lion. The to-aung is a fabulous animal which inhabits the Himalayan forest. The earliest ones found date to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Other animals such as the elephant, monkey, chicken, horse, bull, chicken, tortoise, rat, spider and fish are extremely rare.

There are examples of elephant weights in Opium Weights, Rolf and Ilse Braun, 1983 at pages 77 – 93.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Burmese Opium Weight 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Burma or Laos
Size: Height 3 cm
Order Number: MHSABOW2

They are called ‘opium weights’ but this is not strictly correct. They were used in Burmese, Thai and Cambodian markets in the 16th-19th centuries to weigh food and everyday goods, as well as gold, silver and pearls. It is not known when they first came into existence.

They were cast in Laos too and the elephant became the motif of Laotian standard weights. Laos was once called ‘country of millions of elephants.’

The British associated these countries with opium, but is a myth that they were used to weigh opium. Goods were measured using two baskets or trays hanging from a beam. The weight was put in one basket and the goods were placed in the other basket.

Visitors to the court of Pegu in the 16th century mentioned that silver was weighed with ‘curious animal’ weights.  In 1855 an emissary of Queen Victoria called Yule illustrated one in his book, A Narrative of the Mission Sent by the Governor General of India to the Court of Ava.

Boldly modelled opium weights were cast by the lost wax (cire perdue) method. They have two parts, an animal or bird and a base, which is about the same weight. The base may be hexagonal, rectangular, octagonal or circular. The bases are small platforms on which the animal or bird stands. In the 19th century they became steeper and feathers, manes and tails became more flamboyant. The larger ones may have had a separate mould. Many are incised with horizontal lines. Some are worn down through use.

Bronze was used, an alloy of copper, tin and zinc. 16th and 17th century weights are reddish because of a higher proportion of copper being used in the alloy. In the late 17th and 18th centuries they used more tin (10 to 40%),  giving a slightly silvery-whitish colour. Late 18th and 19th centuries have a light yellowish colour. Late 19th and 20th century ones of brass have a deep yellowish colour. Bronze weights stopped being made shortly after the British defeated Burma in 1885. They were gradually replaced by round iron weights.

The units of measurement do not correspond to western scales of measurement, but there is a proportional relationship between the various sizes in a series. They came in a set of ten. They were checked and legalised by a stamp or seal (usually difficult to read through use) given by the king or his officials in each town.

Designs are birds or quadrupeds. The larger ones were usually made with greater attention to detail, but the larger and medium weights are more common than the smaller sizes.

The most common is a hintha bird or Brahmani duck, also called a hamsa. It was the emblem of the Mon kingdom, which once ruled Lower Burma. A duck’s beak and feet and a flamboyant, crested comb, with 3 to 4 layers of ruffles down the back of the neck is common. The beak is often holding foliage, worm or a pearl. The eye is usually outlined. The head is crowned by a two or three-point curling crest. The bird usually has a round, protruding breast and wings close to the body are often decorated with curved lines to indicate the main feathers. The wings and tail usually curl gracefully upwards. The tail may be short and stumpy. Back and tail feathers may have parallel curved lines. The feet may not be visible and the bird appears to be sitting on the base. Metal under the tail may add support. Head and feathers may be emphasised by incising.

Another popular animal is the to-aung, with the face of a lion and body of a bull, horns and the hooves and tail of a horse. It is often wrongly referred to as the chinthe or Burmese lion. The to-aung is a fabulous animal which inhabits the Himalayan forest. The earliest ones found date to the 17th and 18th centuries.

Other animals such as the elephant, monkey, chicken, horse, bull, chicken, tortoise, rat, spider and fish are extremely rare.

There are examples of elephant weights in Opium Weights, Rolf and Ilse Braun, 1983 at pages 77 – 93.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Burmese Opium Weight 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Cambodia
Size: Cylinder: Height 11 cm, Diameter (at top) 3.5 cm; Pounder: Height 18 cm, Width (at top) 7.5 cm
Order Number: MHSACBP1

The basic ingredients are betel leaf, areca nut and lime powder. Gambir and tobacco may be added  to make it more fragrant.

The containers and implements included boxes of various shapes and sizes to store the betel nuts,  betel leaf holders for the already prepared betel quid, lime pots, hinged cutters , similar to scissors, to cut the hard areca nut, knives to cut the softer nuts, pounders to crush the nut, salve boxes to hold beeswax for the lips, spittoons, tobacco pouches and trays on which they all were displayed.

The betel pounder was like a mortar and pestle. It came in various sizes and its purpose was to crush the areca nut into a soft substance for the elderly or those who had no teeth and could not chew the hard nut. The pounder was a long metal instrument with a handle and sharpened tip, which pressed down on the nut inside a tall hollow cylinder.

The bottom of the cylinder is open.

19th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Betel Pounder 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze cylinder, top of the pounder is wood, pounder may be bronze or brass
Style: Cambodia
Size: Cylinder: Height 7 cm, Diameter (at top) 3.5 cm; Pounder: Height 12 cm, Width (at top) 3 cm
Order Number: MHSACBP2

The basic ingredients are betel leaf, areca nut and lime powder. Gambir and tobacco may be added  to make it more fragrant.

The containers and implements included boxes of various shapes and sizes to store the betel nuts,  betel leaf holders for the already prepared betel quid, lime pots, hinged cutters , similar to scissors, to cut the hard areca nut, knives to cut the softer nuts, pounders to crush the nut, salve boxes to hold beeswax for the lips, spittoons, tobacco pouches and trays on which they all were displayed.

The betel pounder was like a mortar and pestle. It came in various sizes and its purpose was to crush the areca nut into a soft substance for the elderly or those who had no teeth and could not chew the hard nut. The pounder was a long metal instrument with a handle and sharpened tip, which pressed down on the nut inside a tall hollow cylinder.

The bottom of the cylinder is closed.

19th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Betel Pounder 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 8.5 cm
Order Number: MHSACB1

Bronze is made by adding tin to copper. The technique reached Western Europe by about 2800 BCE, Egypt by about 2200 BCE,  North China by about 2200 BCE, China’s Yunnan province by about 1400 BCE, Thailand by about 1100 BCE, and southern India by about 1000 BC (possibly a century or two earlier).

Nobody knows if the technique spread from a single place in the Middle East or was independently invented in different locations.

In the case of Cambodia (and Thailand) the choices are that it was independently developed in the country, or that it was brought from China (or it could been have the reverse and brought from northeast Thailand to China), or that it was imported from Bengal.

This bracelet was skillfully and elegantly designed by the ancient Khmer culture between the 8th and 13th century AD. Raised decoration. Enriched with a nice ancient patina.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Bracelet 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 8 cm
Order Number: MHSACB2

Bronze is made by adding tin to copper. The technique reached Western Europe by about 2800 BCE, Egypt by about 2200 BCE,  North China by about 2200 BCE, China’s Yunnan province by about 1400 BCE, Thailand by about 1100 BCE, and southern India by about 1000 BC (possibly a century or two earlier).

Nobody knows if the technique spread from a single place in the Middle East or was independently invented in different locations.

In the case of Cambodia (and Thailand) the choices are that it was independently developed in the country, or that it was brought from China (or it could been have the reverse and brought from northeast Thailand to China), or that it was imported from Bengal.

This bracelet was skillfully and elegantly designed by the ancient Khmer culture between the 8th and 13th century AD. Raised decoration. Enriched with a nice ancient patina.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Bracelet 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 8.5 cm
Order Number: MHSACB3

Bronze is made by adding tin to copper. The technique reached Western Europe by about 2800 BCE, Egypt by about 2200 BCE,  North China by about 2200 BCE, China’s Yunnan province by about 1400 BCE, Thailand by about 1100 BCE, and southern India by about 1000 BC (possibly a century or two earlier).

Nobody knows if the technique spread from a single place in the Middle East or was independently invented in different locations.

In the case of Cambodia (and Thailand) the choices are that it was independently developed in the country, or that it was brought from China (or it could been have the reverse and brought from northeast Thailand to China), or that it was imported from Bengal.

This bracelet was skillfully and elegantly designed by the ancient Khmer culture between the 8th and 13th century AD. Raised decoration. Enriched with a nice ancient patina.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Bracelet 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 8.5 cm
Order Number: MHSACB4

Bronze is made by adding tin to copper. The technique reached Western Europe by about 2800 BCE, Egypt by about 2200 BCE,  North China by about 2200 BCE, China’s Yunnan province by about 1400 BCE, Thailand by about 1100 BCE, and southern India by about 1000 BC (possibly a century or two earlier).

Nobody knows if the technique spread from a single place in the Middle East or was independently invented in different locations.

In the case of Cambodia (and Thailand) the choices are that it was independently developed in the country, or that it was brought from China (or it could been have the reverse and brought from northeast Thailand to China), or that it was imported from Bengal.

This bracelet was skillfully and elegantly designed by the ancient Khmer culture between the 8th and 13th century AD. Raised decoration. Enriched with a nice ancient patina.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Bracelet 4 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 8.5 cm
Order Number: MHSACB5

Bronze is made by adding tin to copper. The technique reached Western Europe by about 2800 BCE, Egypt by about 2200 BCE,  North China by about 2200 BCE, China’s Yunnan province by about 1400 BCE, Thailand by about 1100 BCE, and southern India by about 1000 BC (possibly a century or two earlier).

Nobody knows if the technique spread from a single place in the Middle East or was independently invented in different locations.

In the case of Cambodia (and Thailand) the choices are that it was independently developed in the country, or that it was brought from China (or it could been have the reverse and brought from northeast Thailand to China), or that it was imported from Bengal.

This bracelet was skillfully and elegantly designed. One side is decorated with a swastika pattern and the other side is smooth.

The swastika is an equilateral cross with arms bent at right angles, all in the same  direction, usually clockwise. The swastika is a symbol of prosperity and good fortune throughout the ancient and modern world. The word is derived from the Sanskrit svastika, meaning ‘conducive to well-being’.  It is the most widely used auspicious symbol of Hindus and Buddhists. 

17th or 18th century AD.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Bracelet 5 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 4 cm
Order Number: MHSACCE1

Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 4 cm
Order Number: MHSACCE2

Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 3.25 cm
Order Number: MHSACCE3

Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Diameter 3 cm
Order Number: MHSACCE4

Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring.

19th – early 20th century.

Map of Cambodia.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Ceremonial Earring 4 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Rattan
Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 9.5 cm, Diameter 6.5 cm
Order Number: MHSACCC1

The cage basket is for carrying crickets, jong reut. There are several species and jong reut dike is large and very dark brown. They are aggressive and kids put on cricket fights. Cricket fighting rarely causes injuries. It is also popular pastime in China and dates back more than 1,000 years to the Tang Dynasty.

The edible ones are jong reut doeng (coconut cricket). They are fried. Eating insects is generally healthier than meat. They are low-fat, rich in protein, fibre, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, omega-3, calcium and 9 essential amino-acids. And they produce almost 3,000 times fewer greenhouse emissions than red meat.

20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Cricket Cage 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Rattan
Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 9 cm, Diameter 6 cm
Order Number: MHSACCC2

The cage basket is for carrying crickets, jong reut. There are several species and jong reut dike is large and very dark brown. They are aggressive and kids put on cricket fights. Cricket fighting rarely causes injuries. It is also popular pastime in China and dates back more than 1,000 years to the Tang Dynasty.

The edible ones are jong reut doeng (coconut cricket). They are fried. Eating insects is generally healthier than meat. They are low-fat, rich in protein, fibre, iron, zinc, vitamin B12, omega-3, calcium and 9 essential amino-acids. And they produce almost 3,000 times fewer greenhouse emissions than red meat.

20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Cricket Cage 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 6 cm, Length 7.5 cm, Width 8 cm
Order Number: MHSACHLDB1

Silver objects have been found in Cambodia dating back 500 years. The Royal capital was in Udong from the 15th to the 19^th century.  In 1866 King Norodom  moved the capital to Phnom Penh. Some master gold and silversmiths moved from Udong with the court and occupied quarters not far from the Royal Palace. In the early 20th century there were also skilled silversmiths in Battambang.

There were early foreign accounts of silver in Cambodia. Chinese records of Kaing T’ai and Chu Ying (3 AD) said  ‘gold and silver were used for making utensils and decorated … ‘

In the 13th century, Zhou Daguan, a Chinese emissary who lived almost a year in Angkor between 1296 and 1297, says ‘Cambodian silversmiths are experts in relief work.’  He went on to say, ‘Every person dining in the houses of nobles or rich people is given silver plates, and sometimes even gold ones … Then came other girls carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of ornaments, of very special design, the uses of which were strange to me.’

Bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Banteay Chhmar temples (12th century) depict people carrying richly decorated objects which look similar to silver pedestal-dishes produced by silversmiths in Koh Chen, Udong.

Zhou Daguan wrote, ‘No gold or silver is found in this country, to my knowledge, most in demand are Chinese gold and silver.’ In the 16th and 17th centuries,  there were European traders  and Portuguese advisers to the court.  Portugal and Spanish traders  imported silver from Mexico via the Philippines to Cambodia. In 1604 the Spanish priest Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio mentioned the abundance of gold, silver and precious gems.  A considerable amount of silver was imported to Southeast Asia from China and Japan.

There was surface silver mining in Bo Sup Trup in Cambodia since at least 1877 and underground mining from 1905 until 1911.

Thomas Wallace Knox, an Englishman who traveled throughout Southeast Asian countries in the late 19th century, mentioned precious objects that he saw in the house of the Siem Reap governor in 1871 after being entertained to dinner, ‘The Governor exhibited his gold betel boxes and other paraphernalia. He told us that all were made by a Cambodian goldsmith in Siemrap (sic) from the gold and silver coins of Hue, the capital of Annam, of entirely pure metal, and they certainly were very elegant in design and finish. We most admired the cigar case. The other articles were a large dish which contained the ‘kit’, a gold betel-leaf and lime holder; a small gold tobacco-box; a silver cup, with cigars and little silver box, made in the form of a fish, containing a perfumed ointment, used by the native noblemen to anoint their lips and nostrils.’

Silver repoussé boxes were made to contain lime, one of the ingredients for betel chewing, and cosmetics. They usually have animal and plant motifs. Betel chewing was a way of life among Asian kings, aristocrats and the common people, socially and ceremonially, such as at betrothals, weddings, Buddhist monk ordinations, death, and oaths of allegiance to the monarch, and the formation of a legal contract. Offering betel was a gesture of hospitality and most families kept a betel set in their home.

A betel set comprised a small tray with a tall rim, holding a betel leaf holder, boxes to keep the areca nut, cloves, tobacco and spices, a cutter to cut the fresh areca nut, a lime container, a spatula for the lime, a spittoon, and sometimes a small container for bees’ wax to smooth on the lips as balm. Older people wit no teeth smashed the areca nut in a cylindrical mortar and pestle, so that it could be sucked rather than chewed. Wealthy families’ sets were made of gold, silver or bronze, while poorer people had lacquerware or wood.

Silver animals, usually crouching, are often astrological and mythological creatures and birds. There were kneeling elephants with upturned trunks, reclining deer, chickens, turtles, quails, geese, tigers, rabbits and lions. Paired birds were symbols of fidelity and rabbits were symbols of fertility. There were also fruits, such as mangosteens, pumpkins, and clam shells. Uniquely Cambodian was the lime container in the shape of a gourd decorated with flowers.

The boxes were made in two parts with the cover being the top of the animal. The join is hardly visible and it looks like one piece. 

Silver is expensive, so only rich and elites could afford a complete set of silver betel utensils. Gold sets were reserved for the King and the Royal Palace. Commoners used boxes of brass and copper. Pure silver is usually considered too soft and is alloyed with another metal, such as copper, to make it more durable. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 parts copper and it’s the copper that oxidises and tarnishes.

Silver animal boxes were given as wedding gifts and so were treated as family heirlooms. They were also given on special occasions, such as a graduation, promotion or anniversary. Some were kept on the family altar, for example, an elephant holding a lotus to contain candles or incense sticks.

In Cambodia, as well as Thailand, the year was symbolised by a particular animal from a list of 12, so if you were born in the year of the tiger, you may be given a present of a silver box in the shape of a tiger. The cycle begins with the Year of the Rat.  It’s believed the classification came from the Middle East, adopted by India in the 2nd or 3rd millennium BC, going to China in the 1st century BC, from China to Vietnam and then Cambodia. The earliest Cambodian inscription mentioning the 12-year animal cycle was in 992 AD found in Angkhor Thom in the late 13th century.  The animal year of one’s birth  indicate a person’s personality and give a guide to good marriage partner, for example, a tiger and snake are not a good fit.

The astrological animals were the most popular silver boxes. Every one, apart from the dragon and rat are found in Cambodia. They are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Before 1945 silver coins, mostly French Indo-Chinese ‘piastre de commerce’, which were minted from 1885 to 1928 and again from 1931, and Chinese sycee (silver ingot, which looked like a shoe) money were used as the raw material. Coins from China, Mexico, Japan and the United States were also used.

Silverwork takes great concentration and as long as 5 years to master. Boxes were made by hand. Moulds were not used. Sometimes one person formed the animal shape and another finished and polished it. Some pieces are easier to make than others. Deer are very difficult. Semi-precious stones or glass were occasionally added, for example, to augment the eyes or chest. Pieces were not normally signed.

When tobacco was introduced to Cambodia, people, especially city dwellers, abandoned betel-chewing and turned to cigarettes. In the early decades of the 20th century, the silver betel set as symbol of prestige was replaced by tobacco and cigar boxes. Only elderly people, mostly women, and usually in the countryside, continued to chew it.

His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia gave silver animals as diplomatic gifts in the 1950s and 1960s to foreign guests and to decorate State residences, including the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

This rare fine silver Cambodian lime box is in the shape of a double bird. It is realistic, chased and engraved all over with feathers in zones, with expressive faces, fine beaks, eyes engraved in circles and tails. The lid fits tightly over the bottom half.

Birds symbolise conjugal bliss. This is a pair of birds looking at each other lovingly. Birds joined together would be a good wedding gift.

From 1914 – mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Lime Container – Double Bird appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 6.5 cm, Length 9 cm, Width 5 cm
Order Number: MHSACHLC1

Silver objects have been found in Cambodia dating back 500 years. The Royal capital was in Udong from the 15th to the 19^th century.  In 1866 King Norodom  moved the capital to Phnom Penh. Some master gold and silversmiths moved from Udong with the court and occupied quarters not far from the Royal Palace. In the early 20th century there were also skilled silversmiths in Battambang.

There were early foreign accounts of silver in Cambodia. Chinese records of Kaing T’ai and Chu Ying (3 AD) said  ‘gold and silver were used for making utensils and decorated … ‘

In the 13th century, Zhou Daguan, a Chinese emissary who lived almost a year in Angkor between 1296 and 1297, says ‘Cambodian silversmiths are experts in relief work.’  He went on to say, ‘Every person dining in the houses of nobles or rich people is given silver plates, and sometimes even gold ones … Then came other girls carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of ornaments, of very special design, the uses of which were strange to me.’

Bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Banteay Chhmar temples (12th century) depict people carrying richly decorated objects which look similar to silver pedestal-dishes produced by silversmiths in Koh Chen, Udong.

Zhou Daguan wrote, ‘No gold or silver is found in this country, to my knowledge, most in demand are Chinese gold and silver.’ In the 16th and 17th centuries,  there were European traders  and Portuguese advisers to the court.  Portugal and Spanish traders  imported silver from Mexico via the Philippines to Cambodia. In 1604 the Spanish priest Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio mentioned the abundance of gold, silver and precious gems.  A considerable amount of silver was imported to Southeast Asia from China and Japan.

There was surface silver mining in Bo Sup Trup in Cambodia since at least 1877 and underground mining from 1905 until 1911.

Thomas Wallace Knox, an Englishman who traveled throughout Southeast Asian countries in the late 19th century, mentioned precious objects that he saw in the house of the Siem Reap governor in 1871 after being entertained to dinner, ‘The Governor exhibited his gold betel boxes and other paraphernalia. He told us that all were made by a Cambodian goldsmith in Siemrap (sic) from the gold and silver coins of Hue, the capital of Annam, of entirely pure metal, and they certainly were very elegant in design and finish. We most admired the cigar case. The other articles were a large dish which contained the ‘kit’, a gold betel-leaf and lime holder; a small gold tobacco-box; a silver cup, with cigars and little silver box, made in the form of a fish, containing a perfumed ointment, used by the native noblemen to anoint their lips and nostrils.’

Silver repoussé boxes were made to contain lime, one of the ingredients for betel chewing, and cosmetics. They usually have animal and plant motifs. Betel chewing was a way of life among Asian kings, aristocrats and the common people, socially and ceremonially, such as at betrothals, weddings, Buddhist monk ordinations, death, and oaths of allegiance to the monarch, and the formation of a legal contract. Offering betel was a gesture of hospitality and most families kept a betel set in their home.

A betel set comprised a small tray with a tall rim, holding a betel leaf holder, boxes to keep the areca nut, cloves, tobacco and spices, a cutter to cut the fresh areca nut, a lime container, a spatula for the lime, a spittoon, and sometimes a small container for bees’ wax to smooth on the lips as balm. Older people wit no teeth smashed the areca nut in a cylindrical mortar and pestle, so that it could be sucked rather than chewed. Wealthy families’ sets were made of gold, silver or bronze, while poorer people had lacquerware or wood.

Silver animals, usually crouching, are often astrological and mythological creatures and birds. There were kneeling elephants with upturned trunks, reclining deer, chickens, turtles, quails, geese, tigers, rabbits and lions. Paired birds were symbols of fidelity and rabbits were symbols of fertility. There were also fruits, such as mangosteens, pumpkins, and clam shells. Uniquely Cambodian was the lime container in the shape of a gourd decorated with flowers.

The boxes were made in two parts with the cover being the top of the animal. The join is hardly visible and it looks like one piece. 

Silver is expensive, so only rich and elites could afford a complete set of silver betel utensils. Gold sets were reserved for the King and the Royal Palace. Commoners used boxes of brass and copper. Pure silver is usually considered too soft and is alloyed with another metal, such as copper, to make it more durable. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 parts copper and it’s the copper that oxidises and tarnishes.

Silver animal boxes were given as wedding gifts and so were treated as family heirlooms. They were also given on special occasions, such as a graduation, promotion or anniversary. Some were kept on the family altar, for example, an elephant holding a lotus to contain candles or incense sticks.

In Cambodia, as well as Thailand, the year was symbolised by a particular animal from a list of 12, so if you were born in the year of the tiger, you may be given a present of a silver box in the shape of a tiger. The cycle begins with the Year of the Rat.  It’s believed the classification came from the Middle East, adopted by India in the 2nd or 3rd millennium BC, going to China in the 1st century BC, from China to Vietnam and then Cambodia. The earliest Cambodian inscription mentioning the 12-year animal cycle was in 992 AD found in Angkhor Thom in the late 13th century.  The animal year of one’s birth  indicate a person’s personality and give a guide to good marriage partner, for example, a tiger and snake are not a good fit.

The astrological animals were the most popular silver boxes. Every one, apart from the dragon and rat are found in Cambodia. They are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Before 1945 silver coins, mostly French Indo-Chinese ‘piastre de commerce’, which were minted from 1885 to 1928 and again from 1931, and Chinese sycee (silver ingot, which looked like a shoe) money were used as the raw material. Coins from China, Mexico, Japan and the United States were also used.

Silverwork takes great concentration and as long as 5 years to master. Boxes were made by hand. Moulds were not used. Sometimes one person formed the animal shape and another finished and polished it. Some pieces are easier to make than others. Deer are very difficult. Semi-precious stones or glass were occasionally added, for example, to augment the eyes or chest. Pieces were not normally signed.

When tobacco was introduced to Cambodia, people, especially city dwellers, abandoned betel-chewing and turned to cigarettes. In the early decades of the 20th century, the silver betel set as symbol of prestige was replaced by tobacco and cigar boxes. Only elderly people, mostly women, and usually in the countryside, continued to chew it.

His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia gave silver animals as diplomatic gifts in the 1950s and 1960s to foreign guests and to decorate State residences, including the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

This fine, unusual, silver Cambodian lime box is in the shape of a hen. It is realistic, chased and engraved all over with feathers in zones, with an expressive face, fine beak, eyes engraved in a circle, and prominent tail. The lid fits tightly over the bottom half. A hen can drive away evil spirits.

There is a similar piece in The Musée de l’Homme in Paris, featured in the Catalogue: Le Bétel by Solange Thierry  on page 245.

From 1914 – mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Lime Container – Hen 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Cambodia
Size: Height 6.5 cm, Length 9 cm, Width 5 cm
Order Number: MHSACHLC2

Silver objects have been found in Cambodia dating back 500 years. The Royal capital was in Udong from the 15th to the 19^th century.  In 1866 King Norodom  moved the capital to Phnom Penh. Some master gold and silversmiths moved from Udong with the court and occupied quarters not far from the Royal Palace. In the early 20th century there were also skilled silversmiths in Battambang.

There were early foreign accounts of silver in Cambodia. Chinese records of Kaing T’ai and Chu Ying (3 AD) said  ‘gold and silver were used for making utensils and decorated … ‘

In the 13th century, Zhou Daguan, a Chinese emissary who lived almost a year in Angkor between 1296 and 1297, says ‘Cambodian silversmiths are experts in relief work.’  He went on to say, ‘Every person dining in the houses of nobles or rich people is given silver plates, and sometimes even gold ones … Then came other girls carrying gold and silver vessels from the palace and a whole galaxy of ornaments, of very special design, the uses of which were strange to me.’

Bas-reliefs of Angkor Wat, Bayon and Banteay Chhmar temples (12th century) depict people carrying richly decorated objects which look similar to silver pedestal-dishes produced by silversmiths in Koh Chen, Udong.

Zhou Daguan wrote, ‘No gold or silver is found in this country, to my knowledge, most in demand are Chinese gold and silver.’ In the 16th and 17th centuries,  there were European traders  and Portuguese advisers to the court.  Portugal and Spanish traders  imported silver from Mexico via the Philippines to Cambodia. In 1604 the Spanish priest Gabriel Quiroga de San Antonio mentioned the abundance of gold, silver and precious gems.  A considerable amount of silver was imported to Southeast Asia from China and Japan.

There was surface silver mining in Bo Sup Trup in Cambodia since at least 1877 and underground mining from 1905 until 1911.

Thomas Wallace Knox, an Englishman who traveled throughout Southeast Asian countries in the late 19th century, mentioned precious objects that he saw in the house of the Siem Reap governor in 1871 after being entertained to dinner, ‘The Governor exhibited his gold betel boxes and other paraphernalia. He told us that all were made by a Cambodian goldsmith in Siemrap (sic) from the gold and silver coins of Hue, the capital of Annam, of entirely pure metal, and they certainly were very elegant in design and finish. We most admired the cigar case. The other articles were a large dish which contained the ‘kit’, a gold betel-leaf and lime holder; a small gold tobacco-box; a silver cup, with cigars and little silver box, made in the form of a fish, containing a perfumed ointment, used by the native noblemen to anoint their lips and nostrils.’

Silver repoussé boxes were made to contain lime, one of the ingredients for betel chewing, and cosmetics. They usually have animal and plant motifs. Betel chewing was a way of life among Asian kings, aristocrats and the common people, socially and ceremonially, such as at betrothals, weddings, Buddhist monk ordinations, death, and oaths of allegiance to the monarch, and the formation of a legal contract. Offering betel was a gesture of hospitality and most families kept a betel set in their home.

A betel set comprised a small tray with a tall rim, holding a betel leaf holder, boxes to keep the areca nut, cloves, tobacco and spices, a cutter to cut the fresh areca nut, a lime container, a spatula for the lime, a spittoon, and sometimes a small container for bees’ wax to smooth on the lips as balm. Older people wit no teeth smashed the areca nut in a cylindrical mortar and pestle, so that it could be sucked rather than chewed. Wealthy families’ sets were made of gold, silver or bronze, while poorer people had lacquerware or wood.

Silver animals, usually crouching, are often astrological and mythological creatures and birds. There were kneeling elephants with upturned trunks, reclining deer, chickens, turtles, quails, geese, tigers, rabbits and lions. Paired birds were symbols of fidelity and rabbits were symbols of fertility. There were also fruits, such as mangosteens, pumpkins, and clam shells. Uniquely Cambodian was the lime container in the shape of a gourd decorated with flowers.

The boxes were made in two parts with the cover being the top of the animal. The join is hardly visible and it looks like one piece. 

Silver is expensive, so only rich and elites could afford a complete set of silver betel utensils. Gold sets were reserved for the King and the Royal Palace. Commoners used boxes of brass and copper. Pure silver is usually considered too soft and is alloyed with another metal, such as copper, to make it more durable. Sterling silver is 925 parts silver to 75 parts copper and it’s the copper that oxidises and tarnishes.

Silver animal boxes were given as wedding gifts and so were treated as family heirlooms. They were also given on special occasions, such as a graduation, promotion or anniversary. Some were kept on the family altar, for example, an elephant holding a lotus to contain candles or incense sticks.

In Cambodia, as well as Thailand, the year was symbolised by a particular animal from a list of 12, so if you were born in the year of the tiger, you may be given a present of a silver box in the shape of a tiger. The cycle begins with the Year of the Rat.  It’s believed the classification came from the Middle East, adopted by India in the 2nd or 3rd millennium BC, going to China in the 1st century BC, from China to Vietnam and then Cambodia. The earliest Cambodian inscription mentioning the 12-year animal cycle was in 992 AD found in Angkhor Thom in the late 13th century.  The animal year of one’s birth  indicate a person’s personality and give a guide to good marriage partner, for example, a tiger and snake are not a good fit.

The astrological animals were the most popular silver boxes. Every one, apart from the dragon and rat are found in Cambodia. They are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Before 1945 silver coins, mostly French Indo-Chinese ‘piastre de commerce’, which were minted from 1885 to 1928 and again from 1931, and Chinese sycee (silver ingot, which looked like a shoe) money were used as the raw material. Coins from China, Mexico, Japan and the United States were also used.

Silverwork takes great concentration and as long as 5 years to master. Boxes were made by hand. Moulds were not used. Sometimes one person formed the animal shape and another finished and polished it. Some pieces are easier to make than others. Deer are very difficult. Semi-precious stones or glass were occasionally added, for example, to augment the eyes or chest. Pieces were not normally signed.

When tobacco was introduced to Cambodia, people, especially city dwellers, abandoned betel-chewing and turned to cigarettes. In the early decades of the 20th century, the silver betel set as symbol of prestige was replaced by tobacco and cigar boxes. Only elderly people, mostly women, and usually in the countryside, continued to chew it.

His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia gave silver animals as diplomatic gifts in the 1950s and 1960s to foreign guests and to decorate State residences, including the Royal Palace in Phnom Penh.

This fine, unusual, silver Cambodian lime box is in the shape of a hen. It is realistic, chased and engraved all over with feathers in zones, with an expressive face, fine beak, eyes engraved in a circle, and prominent tail. The lid fits tightly over the bottom half. A hen can drive away evil spirits.

There is a similar piece in The Musée de l’Homme in Paris, featured in the Catalogue: Le Bétel by Solange Thierry  on page 245.

From 1914 – mid 20th century.

Please ask for the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Cambodian Lime Container – Hen 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.