A SILVER CHEROOT BOX WITH SCENES OF THE RAMAYANALOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), DATED 1911 A dated inscription on the underside of the base, translated: "Burmese year 1272 [1911 CE], 15th Day of August, Full moon. Madam Pu Sein's silver box". 5 7/8 x 4 3/4 x 8 1/4 in. (15 x 12 x 21 cm); 33 1/2 troy oz (1,040 grams) approximate weight Cheroot Boxes Burma's rapidly expanding economy under British colonial rule created an affluent class of Burmese entrepreneurs and traders, timber and agricultural developers, and middle- to high-ranking colonial government officials. Since it was administered as a province of India, a great many Indians also immigrated to Burma. Rectangular silver containers, like the present lot, were used in wealthy homes to store valuables and share luxuries, such as cheroots (a type of cigar). The Ramayana in Burmese Silver The story of Rama, best known in its iteration as Valmiki's Ramayana , has played a significant role in the art, history, and politics of South and Southeast Asian civilizations. There are hundreds—if not thousands—of versions, with local adaptations in poetry and prose, painting and sculpture, and drama and dance, each one illustrative of its own time and place. Underpinning the story's popularity is its political use by rulers of several dynasties, who sought to embody the restoration of religious values carried within the text. The many mediums in which the Rama story was retold, performed, and visually translated carried their legacies onto Burmese silver. Offering bowls clearly informed by literary versions, including Valmiki's Ramayana , would have been appropriate for donations to both Buddhist and Hindu temples. Like the jatakas, the story would also have had the appeal of reinforcing traditional values especially within immigrant Indian households, which formed a significant part of the nouveau riche during the Silver Age. At other times, the showcasing of traditional architecture andplex narrative registers demonstrates a silversmith's familiarity with pictorial renderings of the Rama story in painted murals and illustrated manuscripts ( parabaiks ), which alsomonly serve as merit-generating donations in Theravada Buddhism. Yet perhaps the dramatic performance of the Ramayana had the most prevalent influence on Burmese silver, giving rise to frequent depictions of figural choreography and Konbaung attire in narrative scenes, and to pieces encapsulating the story with a limited cast of key characters. Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, p.55, no.S145, fig.3.22.