email if you have an interest in silver
objects from Southeast Asia, and we will find high quality pieces and send
photos of the objects to you for consideration. |
SILVER OBJECTS |
Silver from Cambodia and Burma are among the most beautiful and
interesting art objects in Southeast Asia. Several countries in
Asia have a long tradition in silver making for jewellery and
"exclusive" decorative items. In Cambodia, the
tradition is mostly aimed at making betel boxes where people used
to keep ingredients needed for betel chewing. Betel leaves, betel
nuts and lime are the main ingredients in betel chewing. The
custom is still widespread in parts of Asia, in particular among
old people. The Cambodian silversmiths have been considered
experts at chasing, repoussé, niello, enamelling, and gilding. Boxes
featuring animals are divided lengthwise into two with the head, back, and tail
comprising the upper section and the feet and stomach the lower half. Burmese
silversmiths traditionally excel in repoussé and
chasing creating objects with very high relief. Silver boxes from the Shan
State in Burma are normally used to keep betel and feature zodiac signs as
decoration. The Cambodian silver items are new (or a few years old)
with about 90 % silver content. The Burmese silver items normally have a
silver content of 92-95 %, and some objects are several decades old. Thavibu Gallery only displays carefully selected,
best quality silver items. The name of the artist is normally not
engraved in the silver items. Kindly let us know by
email if you have an interest in silver
objects from Southeast Asia, and we will find high quality pieces and send
photos of the objects to you for consideration.
Literature: Sylvia Fraser-Lu, 1989: Silverware of South-East Asia, Oxford University Press
(s) = sold
