Burmese Lacquer Water Bowl

This is a fine red and black Burmese lacquerware water bowl with a lid. The body of the pot is decorated with chinthes, a highly stylized leogryph (lion-like creature) typical of Burmese iconography, on a black background. The lion represents Mars (and Tuesday), as the day of the week you are born in Burma is important to choosing a name, a spouse, or a business partner. When going to offer flowers to the Buddha image at a pagoda, Burmese people will go to their directional birthday post, which will be shown by the animal sign. Between the leogryph figures is foliate scrollwork with a red hatch-strokes background. Above this and below are fine red lines interspersed with black bands and bead like designs. On the black band is etched Burmese writing ‘A Kaun’ which means ‘good’. The convex shaped lid is decorated with red and green flowers, leaves and birds. It can take months to make a piece like this with such complex designs. Hand-painted inside the lid are Tamil initials added later - this is because the 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. On the base of the bowl is Burmese script which is probably the master craftsman’s name. The top does not close perfectly, but can be comfortably seated on the bowl.