Material: Rattan
Style: Burma
Size: Height 8 cm, Length 19 cm, Width 9.5 cm
Order Number: MHSBAST6

About 70-80 years.

Please ask the price (or make an offer).

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

Material: Rattan
Style: Burma
Size: Height 9 cm, Length 15.5 cm, Width 7 cm
Order Number: MHSBAST7

About 70-80 years.

Please ask the price (or make an offer).

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

Material: Rattan
Style: Burma
Size: Height 7.5 cm, Length 13 cm, Width 6.5 cm
Order Number: MHSBAST8

About 70-80 years.

Please ask the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Burmese Basket 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Rattan, metal handles, wood, lacquer
Style: Inle Lake, Shan State, Burma
Size: Height 35 cm, Diameter 45 cm
Order Number: MHSABBL4

The body is very fine and delicate basketry in a fancy diamond pattern called kyudayan gwet in Burmese.  The rim and foot are lacquered black. Although rare today, juxtaposing smooth lacquered surfaces with bare basketry is an old Burmese decorative technique. It was popular for large bamboo matting for the walls of houses.

After the First Anglo-Burmese War (1823–1826), Major Henry Burney was stationed at Ava as the British Resident of the East India Company at the Burmese Court of King Bagyidaw from 1829 to 1837. In May 1832 he wrote an essay ‘Some Account of the Lacquered or Japanned Ware of Ava’ in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. He considered Shan boxes superior to those made in Bagan.

There is a similar example of basketry in Burma and the Art of Lacquer, Ralph Isaacs and T. Richard Blurton, River Books, 2000, page 208.

Early – mid 20th century.

Please ask the price (or make an offer).

The post Antique Burmese Basket 4 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Burma (Myanmar)
Size: Height 5 cm, Diameter 5 cm
Order Number: MHSALBB6

70-80 years

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

The post Antique Burmese Betel Box 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Burma (Myanmar)
Size: Height 5.5 cm, Diameter 7cm
Order Number: MHSALBB7

70-80 years

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

The post Antique Burmese Betel Box 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Brass
Style: Burma
Size: Height 11 cm, Width 15 cm, Diameter 12 cm
Order Number: MHSABBB3

The Burmese traditionally excelled at bronze and brass casting. They made boxes, religious images, bells, musical instruments and household items.

Blacksmithing has traditionally been an honoured occupation associated with courage, strength and integrity.

This box is hinged. It was used as a betel box. The small lime container in the tray still has traces of lime.

Early – mid 20th century.

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

The post Antique Burmese Brass Betel Box appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Burma
Size: Height 13 cm, Width 13.5 cm, Diameter 9.5 cm
Order Number: MHSABBBB1

The Burmese traditionally excelled at bronze and brass casting. They made boxes, religious images, bells, musical instruments and household items.

Blacksmithing has traditionally been an honoured occupation associated with courage, strength and integrity.

This box is hinged. It may have been used for storage of valuables but most probably it served as a betel box.

Early – mid 20th century.

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

The post Antique Burmese Bronze Box 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bronze
Style: Burma
Size: Height 13 cm, Width 21 cm, Diameter 12 cm
Order Number: MHSABBB2

The Burmese traditionally excelled at bronze and brass casting. They made boxes, religious images, bells, musical instruments and household items.

Blacksmithing has traditionally been an honoured occupation associated with courage, strength and integrity.

This box is hinged. It may have been used for storage of valuables but most probably it served as a betel box.

Early – mid 20th century.

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

The post Antique Burmese Bronze Box 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Wood, lacquer
Style: Burma
Size: Height 47 cm, Diameter 30 cm
Order Number: MHSABC1

Cooking oil was stored in large, square, heavily lacquered woven containers called hsi-o. It has a square base for sturdiness and small lugs through which string may be threaded so that it can be carried on a pole. It has a detachable lid.

It seems that the art of making lacquer came to Burma from China as China had been making it for 3,000 years, but it may not have been directly.

Bagan was and is largest and most important centre for lacquer production in Burma.

Lacquer is made from the sap of the htanaung and neem trees. It is tapped like rubber. The grey, viscous liquid turns glossy black on exposure to the air. Objects, which are covered in lacquer, are usually of wood or bamboo, which can be made extremely flexible by interweaving horsehair.

It can also be used as a coating on cane, palm leaf, metal and leather. It forms a hard surface when dry and waterproofs the object and is insect resistant.

Numerous coatings of lacquer are applied. After each application the object is left to dry. The process may take 6 months or longer. A fine piece may have 26 applications. Lacquer furniture can take 2 years to make.

Colour can be applied to it. Traditionally red colouring is used for Burmese lacquer. It is the most distinctive and brilliant and is produced by adding powdered mercuric sulphide, cinnabar, to the lacquer sap.  Ocher and red paint may also be used.  It is added by hand on top of the black lacquer surface. Then dried. Green and yellow are sometimes used, but rarely blue.

In pre-colonial times lacquered boxes stored royal jewels, letters and Buddhist manuscripts. Lacquered trays are still used to give food to the monks.

Ordinary people use lacquer containers for food, clothing, cosmetics and flowers, in preference to the increasingly common metal and plastic.

Map of Bagan.

Mid 20th century.

There is a similar example in Oscar Niemeyer Museum, Curitiba,  Brazil and in Burmese Crafts Past and Present, Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Oxford University Press, 1994, page 228.

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

The post Antique Burmese Container appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Bamboo, lacquer
Style: Burma
Size: Height 20.5 cm, Diameter 40 cm
Order Number: MHSABT1

A daung-lan, a low circular table, around which the family sit on the floor to eat.

It seems that the art of making lacquer came to Burma from China as China had been making it for 3,000 years, but it may not have been directly.

Bagan was and is largest and most important centre for lacquer production in Burma.

Lacquer is made from the sap of the htanaung and neem trees. It is tapped like rubber. The grey, viscous liquid turns glossy black on exposure to the air. Objects, which are covered in lacquer, are usually of wood or bamboo, which can be made extremely flexible by interweaving horsehair.

It can also be used as a coating on cane, palm leaf, metal and leather. It forms a hard surface when dry and waterproofs the object and is insect resistant.

Numerous coatings of lacquer are applied. After each application the object is left to dry. The process may take 6 months or longer. A fine piece may have 26 applications. Lacquer furniture can take 2 years to make.

Colour can be applied to it. Traditionally red colouring is used for Burmese lacquer. It is the most distinctive and brilliant and is produced by adding powdered mercuric sulphide, cinnabar, to the lacquer sap.  Ocher and red paint may also be used.  It is added by hand on top of the black lacquer surface. Then dried. Green and yellow are sometimes used, but rarely blue.

In pre-colonial times lacquered boxes stored royal jewels, letters and Buddhist manuscripts. Lacquered trays are still used to give food to the monks.

Ordinary people use lacquer containers for food, clothing, cosmetics and flowers, in preference to the increasingly common metal and plastic.

Map of Bagan.

About 80-90 years.

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

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

Material: Bamboo, lacquer
Style: Burma
Size: Height 22.5 cm, Diameter 43.5 cm
Order Number: MHSABT2

These stands, called kalat, were used to place gifts, usually food, at an acceptable height above the ground, to monks.

It seems that the art of making lacquer came to Burma from China as China had been making it for 3,000 years, but it may not have been directly.

Lacquer is made from the sap of a tree. It is tapped like rubber. The grey, viscous liquid turns black on exposure to the air. The objects, which are covered in lacquer, are usually of wood or bamboo.

Numerous coatings of lacquer are applied. After each application the object is left to dry. The process may take 6 months or longer. A fine piece may have 26 applications. Lacquer furniture can take 2 years to make.

In pre-colonial times lacquered boxes stored royal jewels, letters and Buddhist manuscripts.

Lacquered trays are still used to give food to the monks.

About 80-90 years.

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

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

Material: Bamboo, lacquer
Style: Burma
Size: Height 27.5 cm, Diameter 56 cm
Order Number: MHSABT3

These stands, called kalat, were used to place gifts, usually food, at an acceptable height above the ground, to monks.

It seems that the art of making lacquer came to Burma from China as China had been making it for 3,000 years, but it may not have been directly.

Lacquer is made from the sap of a tree. It is tapped like rubber. The grey, viscous liquid turns black on exposure to the air. The objects, which are covered in lacquer, are usually of wood or bamboo.

Numerous coatings of lacquer are applied. After each application the object is left to dry. The process may take 6 months or longer. A fine piece may have 26 applications. Lacquer furniture can take 2 years to make.

In pre-colonial times lacquered boxes stored royal jewels, letters and Buddhist manuscripts.

Lacquered trays are still used to give food to the monks.

About 80-90 years.

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

The post Antique Burmese Table 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State
Size: Height 7.5 cm, Circumference 31.5 cm, Diameter 10 cm
Order Number: MHSASBBB1

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive geometric bands between boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration are characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

Bold figures of astrological animals or the zodiac frequently decorate the sides.

The base has writing and the engraving of a ram(?).

80-90 years

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

The post Antique Shan State Betel Box 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State
Size: Height 20 cm, Diameter 24 cm
Order Number: MHSASBBB2

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive geometric bands between boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration are characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

The sides are embellished with signs of the zodiac. A horned animal, maybe a ram or goat, crowns the lid surrounded by decoration. The base has a geometric decoration in the middle of which is  a ram-looking animal.

1162 grams.

Early 20th century.

There is a similar one in Burmese Crafts Past and Present, Sylvia Fraser-Lu, Oxford University Press, 1994, figure 34.

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

The post Antique Shan State Betel Box 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State
Size: Height 8.5 cm, Diameter 11.5 cm
Order Number: MHSASBBB3

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive geometric bands between boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration are characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

The sides are embellished with birds and fish.

70-80 years old.

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

The post Antique Shan State Betel Box 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State
Size: Height 8 cm, Length 18.5 cm, Width 10 cm
Order Number: MHSASBBB4

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration is characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

All sides are embellished.

The inscription on the base says in Burmese:

1254 Burmese Era, U Tun Aye – Daw Ngwe Sein, Nyaung Hla Village.

This date is 1892, presumably the date it was made. 

U Tun Aye – Daw Ngew Sein is the name of a person – presumably either the owner or the person who made it.

Nyyaung Hla Village is a small village, not far from Mandalay, presumably where the owner or the person who made it lived.

The post Antique Shan State Betel Box 4 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State, Eastern Burma
Size: Height 5 cm, Length 11.5 cm, Width 6.5 cm
Order Number: MHSASSHMLB1

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration is characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

This solid silver half-moon box held powdered lime for the betel quid. It is repousséd and chased on all sides. On the sides are typical Shan motifs of animals within cartouches.

There is a hinged lid with a hinge rod, elaborately curled at both ends of the hinge. The base has an engraving of an animal, which looks like a lion or dragon.

There are similar boxes in The Shan: Culture, Arts & Crafts, Susan Conway, River Books, 2006, page 156 and a similar example is shown in Betel and Miang, Vanishing Thai Habits, P.A. Reichart and H.P. Philipsen, White Lotus, 1996, page 83.

70-80 years old.

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

The post Antique Shan State Half Moon Lime Box 1 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State, Eastern Burma
Size: Height 4 cm, Length 9.5 cm, Width 5 cm
Order Number: MHSASSHMLB2

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration is characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

This solid silver half-moon box held powdered lime for the betel quid. It is repousséd and chased on all sides. On the sides are typical Shan motifs of animals within cartouches.

There is a hinged lid with a hinge rod, elaborately curled at both ends of the hinge. The base has an inscription.

There are similar boxes in The Shan: Culture, Arts & Crafts, Susan Conway, River Books, 2006, page 156 and a similar example is shown in Betel and Miang, Vanishing Thai Habits, P.A. Reichart and H.P. Philipsen, White Lotus, 1996, page 83.

70-80 years old.

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

The post Antique Shan State Half Moon Lime Box 2 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.

Material: Silver
Style: Shan State, Eastern Burma
Size: Height 4 cm, Length 9.5 cm, Width 4.75 cm
Order Number: MHSASSHMLB3

The Shan State is a state in Burma (Myanmar),  which was once made up of a large number of traditional monarchies or fiefdoms. Betel boxes, flower bowls, and vases used in the palace were made of silver, rather than gold.  Silversmiths hammered discs of silver into shape. Baw silver, at least 95% pure, was mined at Baw-dwin in the Northern Shan States. It produced light and flexible objects.

The silversmiths excelled in repoussé and chasing techniques, which involved hammering a sheet or disc of silver from the reverse side into a container and then covering it with lively figures and floral patterns in high relief. The work continued for affluent merchants and administrators after the fall of the palace and the start of the colonial period in 1885.

Distinctive boldly conceived, well-finished repoussé decoration is characteristic of Shan craftsmanship.

This solid silver half-moon box held powdered lime for the betel quid. It is repousséd and chased on all sides. On the sides are typical Shan motifs of animals within cartouches.

There is a hinged lid. The base has an inscription of a fish.

There are similar boxes in The Shan: Culture, Arts & Crafts, Susan Conway, River Books, 2006, page 156 and a similar example is shown in Betel and Miang, Vanishing Thai Habits, P.A. Reichart and H.P. Philipsen, White Lotus, 1996, page 83.

70-80 years old.

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

The post Antique Shan State Half Moon Lime Box 3 appeared first on Murni's in Bali.