Burmese Lacquer Serving Dish

This is an elegant Burmese lacquer black and red serving dish. The beautiful dish has two side handles and three at the top to lift the lid. The shape was probably inspired by European crockery forms. On the side are etched initials in Tamil, which would have been added later - this was done because Chettiars typically belonged to large joint families, with each branch of the family owning very similar objects of their diasporic heritage. It was important to etch their belongings (valuable or utilitarian) with initials, clearly indicating ownership. A similar dish can be found on page 104 of the book ‘Burmese Lacquerware’ by Sylvia Fraser-Lu.