A SILVER OFFERING BOWL WITH SCENES FROM THE MAHAJANAKA JATAKABY MG. SHWE YON BROS LOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1905 The underside is engraved with the silversmith's insignia of a seated deer and mark: "Mg. Shwe Yon Bros Gold & Silversmith Rangoon". 3 1/8 in. (8 cm) high; 5 1/8 in. (13 cm) diameter; 20 troy oz (620 grams) approximate weight Elite Silversmith Mg. Shwe Yon Bros The preeminent silversmith Maung Shwe Yon had three sons—Maung Shwe Bin, Maung Thu Hlaing, and Maung Yin Maung—who were all very talented. Together with their father, they formed Maung Shwe Yon & Sons based in Rangoon (Yangon), and around the time of his death in c.1889 they changed thepany name to Mg. Shwe Yon Bros. By the time the present bowl was made in 1899, thepany was a top-tier vendor, employing other exceptional goldsmiths and silversmiths. This exquisite bowl exemplifies the superior quality of the Mg. Shwe Yon Bros enterprise. The Mahajanaka Jataka In the Mahajanaka Jataka , the bodhisattva who is later reborn as Siddhartha Gautama perfects the virtue of vigor ( virya ). Opening with a war and ending with the bodhisattva's reign of 7,000 years of peace, the jataka's representation in Burmese silver never disappoints in providing a great visual spectacle of caparisoned war elephants and cavalry. Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, p.66, no.S138, fig.3.42.