A SILVER OFFERING BOWL WITH SCENES OF BUDDHA'S NATIVITY AND EARLY LIFEATTRIBUTED TO MAUNG YIN MAUNG LOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1905 4 3/4 in. (12 cm) high; 8 1/4 in. (21 cm) diameter; 28 troy oz (874 grams) approximate weight Of excellent quality, this offering bowl takes great delight in depicting Siddhartha Gautama being cherished several times as an infant. Maung Yin Muang Maung Yin Maung succeeded his father, Maung Shwe Yon, bing the most famous Burmese silversmith of his generation in the early 20th century after winning gold at the international Delhi Exhibition of 1902-3. Several of his top pieces were purchased by British expatriates and still reside in private collections in the United Kingdom today. Likely the most skilled of the three siblings that formed the Mg. Shwe Yon Brosmercial enterprise, Maung Yin Maung was clearly also an astute businessman, leveraging the medals he won at international exhibition in his marketing. However, as with other elite silversmiths of the Burmese Silver Age, Maung Yin Maung, did not sign every piece he made, particularly if it was produced for domestic clientele rather than artpetitions, where doing so might have appeared conceited. Burmese Silver Ceremonial Offering Bowls Produced in great numbers, the finely decorated ceremonial offering bowl is the quintessential Burmese silver artwork. Its simple geometry follows the shape of traditional alms bowls carried by Buddhist monks. Its function in the home was versatile – the offering bowl served as a vessel for temple offerings; as a storyboard for teaching and reinforcing ethical values and spiritual wisdom; as a display of wealth and status; and to simply please the senses when filled with tropic flowers. However, in contrast to Burmese silver made for Europeans, who were accustomed to hallmarks, most of the silver made for native residents went unsigned, as such a mark would quite likely have been interpreted as a distasteful display of vanity. Instead, it was the owner's name that would be inscribed, for pragmatic religious reasons. In Theravada Buddhism, the offerings made to monasteries, temples, and shrines generate karmic merit for the donor, and the monetary value of the container used was in part proportionate to the amount of merit earned. Additionally, a highly valuable silver bowl would be lent tomunity relatives and friends to make offerings themselves, which would generate merit for both the borrower and the owner of the bowl. Therefore, Burmese silver offering bowls were prized and shared, then returned to their rightful owners whose names were inscribed underneath. Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, p.61-3, no.S43, fig.3.36.