Page 66 - Bonhams March 22 2022 Indian and Himalayan Art NYC

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A SILVER OFFERING BOWL WITH SCENES FROM THE RAMAYANA
BY MAUNG SHWE YON BROS, LOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), DATED 1899
An English inscription on the rim: “To Mr. and Mrs. Robert Simpson on October 4th 1899. With
hearty good wishes from Captain Sinclair M.P. Lord Pentland Secretary for Scotland”.
4 in. (10 cm) high; 5 3/4 in. (14.5 cm) diameter;
18 troy oz (560 grams) approximate weight
$10,000 - 15,000

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 the company name to Maung Shwe Yon Bros. By the time
the present bowl was made in 1899, the company was a top-tier vendor, employing other
exceptional goldsmiths and silversmiths.

This exquisite bowl exemplifies the superior quality of the Maung Shwe Yon Bros enterprise.
Three scenes from the Ramayana depicted with high-relief repoussé figures within a detailed
forest setting are filled with dramatic interactions and movement. In the first, the stag being
hunted by Rama barrels through the thicket, seemingly about to crash into Sita bracing herself.
In the second (moving counterclockwise), Rama subdues the ogress Maricha by grabbing
and contorting the very deer horns she manifested to lure him away from Sita. In the third, a
counterpoised entourage behind Ravana includes one of his kin seemingly trying to pull him
from the climactic battle with Rama that leads to the ogre-king’s demise. The three scenes
are divided by gnarled trees integrated seamlessly into the landscaped background, which is
rendered with various masterful chasing techniques.

Published:
Owens, Burmese Silver Art, p.60, no.S119, fig.3.30.

64 | BONHAMS