Burmese Lacquer Betel Box 03

This is a beautiful Burmese black and green lacquerware paan or betel (kun-it) box - a traditional item of hospitality in Burmese homes used to offer to visitors. On the lid and side in black medallions are engraved chin-thes, a highly stylized leogryph (lion-like creature) typical of Burmese iconography. The lion represents Mars (and Tuesday), as the day of the week you are born in Burma is important in choosing a name, a spouse, or a business partner. Around this is a chequered (za-yun) design with groupings of four in cream, and around this a larger filled square decoration of green. This type of design was influenced by textile designs introduced by Europeans. The inside of the box is red and there is an additional tray decorated with black and green circular designs on the base and sides. It would take months to make a piece like this with such complex designs.
Hand-painted on the side are the initials A.V. 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. Boxes like this were used to store the ingredients to make paan, which in its basic form consists of slices of betel nut mixed with lime paste wrapped in betel leaf. The different compartments in the box would contain these ingredients, or even coconut, saffron, fragrant spices or rose preserves for more special preparations. “A maze of sumptuary laws decreed the size, the extent of decoration, and the material permitted for the betel boxes of the various grades of courtiers” - Sylvia Fraser-Lu. Similar Burmese paan boxes can be found in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. (Ref: Pages 68, 69, and 92 of the book ‘Burmese Lacquerware’ by Sylvia Fraser-Lu.)

Pages 68, 69, and 92 of the book ‘Burmese Lacquerware’ by Sylvia Fraser-Lu.)