- Museum number
- 1998,0723.136
- Description
-
Betel-box made of woven and coiled split bamboo and lacquer, with a slightly domed lid and base in the Shan style. It has no internal trays and the interior is covered in a plain dark orange-red lacquer. The exterior is decorated, in the yun technique, with the gwin-shet pattern in red, black and yellow lacquer. The frames of the gwin-shet pattern contain highly stylised representations of - on the top of the lid the signs of the zodiac (ram, bull, person, crab, lion, person, person, scorpion, person, fish and water-pot); on the side of the lid 18 signs, some of which are the signs of the zodiac, but there many repeats (ram, bull, bull, gemini, gemini, makara, person, person, crab (over two frames!), lion, lion, person, person, makara, makara, water-pot, fish, fish); on the bottom of the drum are a group of 10 mixed signs (all but the elephant are signs of the zodiac, though it is not a complete zodiac - tusker, water-pot, fish, ram, bull, crab, 'beast', person, makara, person). The top of the side of the lid and the bottom of the side of the drum are decorated with a thick band of inlaid bare split bamboo. The outside of the drum is decorated, again in the yun technique, with a repeating frieze of birds.
- Production date
- 19thC (late)-20thC (early)
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 14 centimetres
-
Height: 9 centimetres
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Trays missing. Inlaid split bamboo around top of lid missing in places. A little chipped and cracked in places and worn on the base. The lacquer decoration seems to have darkened somewhat. Basically sound.
- Acquisition date
- 1998
- Acquisition notes
- Bought by Mr. Isaacs from one of the market stalls beneath the Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda at Ywama, on Inle Lake, southern Shan States on 28 December 1991.
- Department
- Asia
- Registration number
- 1998,0723.136
- Additional IDs
-
Miscellaneous number: Isaacs 138
