PROPERTY FROM THE NOBLE SILVER COLLECTION A SILVER OFFERING BOWL WITH SCENES FROM THE SAMA JATAKALOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1925 The underside has an inscription, translated "Mr Hla Taung's silver bowl". 6 1/2 in. (16.5 cm) high; 12 5/8 in. (32 cm) diameter; 48 troy oz (1,497 grams) approximate weight As Shaw notes, the Sama Jataka "is beloved throughout Southeast Asia for its portrayal of loving kindness ( maitri )... This quality is imbued with a magical power beyond even that of the higher knowledges ( abhinnas ) in Buddhism. It apparently achieves the impossible: the revival of the dead" (Shaw, The Jatakas , 2006, p.275). Embellished with fine, lace-like details, this offering bowl features multiple layers of decorative motifs, including bands of lotus buds, deer, scrolling acanthus, and geometric patterns. The tallest, central band depicts ten key scenes from the Sama Jataka . The refined miniature scale of each figure adds a Fabergé-like feel to the bowl. Each scene is divided by a pair of intertwined serpents ( naga ) framing the bust of a celestial devotee, clearly inspired by thepanom figures in contemporaneous Thai Bencharong porcelain (see for instance Art Institute of Chicago, 1923.575). Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, p.89, no.S127, fig.3.81.