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A SILVER BETEL BOX WITH SCENES FROM THE SAMA JATAKA
LOWER BURMA, FIRST QUARTER OF THE 20TH CENTURY
15 3/4 in. (40 cm) high; 9 7/8 in. (25 cm) diameter;
57 troy oz (1,773 grams) approximate weight

$20,000 - 30,000
This grand centerpiece produced for a Burmese patron was designed for the custom of betel
chewing, widespread throughout Southeast Asia, and practiced by all socio-economic classes
for over 2,000 years. Most commonly, hosts present betel quid to guests as a sign of hospitality
and friendship. The betel quid contains three main ingredients: an Areca catechu palm nut;
a Piper betel pepper plant leaf; and 'lime' paste (slaked lime, a mixture of calcium oxide and
water). Additional ingredients may include tobacco, tree bark, black pepper, ginger, and other
spices. This box, consisting of a lidded cylindrical container on an ornate pedestal, would have
housed the ingredients, perhaps in quids prepared specially for the occasion.

Owning a silver betel box was an indicator of status in Burmese society, as the vernacular
medium for such objects was generally lacquer. 19th- and early 20th-century portrait
photography of Konbaung royalty, Shan chiefs (Saohpas), and top-ranking Burmese families
often featured these boxes in the foreground. The present example's sculptural finial, with the
traditional dress and blade fan of a Burmese court official, may also constitute a subtle symbol
of status.
Few silver betel boxes survive with their original pedestals or ever had one produced. The
present features a panoramic story board depicting scenes from the Sama Jataka around
its foot, which is replicated through the same techniques, figural treatment, and landscape
elements around the box's drum and lid. Further subjects from the jataka encircle the
pedestal's ornate, pierced skirt. One of the final stories in the Buddhist Jataka Tales, the Sama
Jataka is a favorite for its emphasis on loving kindness (maitri). Filial piety is also a key theme
in this jataka, making it a popular subject in Burmese dwellings, where the didactic impact of
decorative items can reiterate traditional familial values.
A celestial devotee, repeatedly pictured with his hands raised toward the viewer in the
traditional gesture of greeting (anjali mudra), is used to bookend the various scenes in the box's
drum. This figure is clearly inspired by thepanom guardian deities in contemporaneous Thai
Bencharong porcelain (see for instance Art Institute of Chicago, 1923.575), revealing a broader
set of cross-cultural Asian influences on Burmese material culture beyond that of the British.
Published:
Owens, Burmese Silver Art, pp.43 & 45, no.S9, fig.3.1.

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