A BURMESE PIERCED AND REPOUSSÉ SILVER BOWL WITH MYTHICAL CHARACTERS
Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar), South East Asia, ca. 1880 - 1887, stamped Maung Shwe Yon of Rangoon (MSY) (d. 1889)

Of deep rounded shape with a circular rim, resting on a plain base stamped MSY in capital letters, the body finely pierced and decorated with three overlapping horizontal registers, the central and widest one with repoussé mythical figures, possibly from the Ramayana epic or one of the local variants of the Buddhist Jataka Tales, set against lush scrolling vines under lobed beaded arches, framed within two 'twisted rope' fretwork bands, the lower register with stylised acanthus leaves, the top register with further openwork vegetal scrolls, an inscription in Burmese around the rim with a date, possibly 1885 or 1887, 568gr., 15cm diam. and 11cm high.

Maung Shwe Yon (d. 1889) was a highly acclaimed 19th-century silversmith from Rangoon, renowned for his exceptional mastery of form and ability to imbue the figures on his creations with personality and emotion. In his 1902 monograph, The Silverwork of Burma, Harry L. Tilly sang the praises of this master silversmith, dedicating two out of ten plates exclusively to the illustration of his work. One of these plates, Plate VI, is dedicated to a pierced silver figural bowl made by Maung Shwe Yon, which the author described as 'the best example of this kind of work ever produced'. This bowl and our lot present several affinities. First of all, the decorative program is arranged as a triple border to the rim with openwork ground, an unusual choice in Burmese silver bowls. Secondly, the widest central register presents single repoussé figures, departing from the crowded gathering presents on several Burmese creations of the late 19th century. The quality of the repoussé work and the engravings, especially when it comes to facial details and the folds in the garments, denote the presence of a skillful, seasoned hand and a sharp eye for details. Lastly, the use of dense vegetal motifs like scrolling vines as background and thick acanthus leaves around the base can be observed on both bowls.

The main difference between these two bowls lies perhaps in the slight variation of the maker's mark on the base. Our bowl is stamped MSY in English letters on plain ground. The large ceremonial bowl in Tilly's monograph presents the same stamp overlaid on a deer motif within a sixteen-pointed star or sunburst, usually identified as the maker's logo. The lack of the logo in the present lot could possibly be interpreted as the master's decision to classify the bowl as a lesser prestigious work. In fact, it has been argued that most of the MSY-stamped works featuring the deer logo were intended for international exhibitions (see, for example, the Patacara silver bowl recently sold at Bonhams New York, 22 March 2022, lot 322), whilst the creations without a logo could have been produced for European colonials living in Rangoon, part of British Burma, or by his children prior to the death of his father and the establishment of Maung Shwe Yon Brothers. For further reference, please see Joseph Cohen's article, Antique Burmese Silver Bowl, and Wynyard Wilkinson, Mary-Louise Wilkinson and Barbara Harding, 'Burmese Silver from the Colonial Period', in Arts of Asia, May-June 2013.