PROPERTY FROM THE NOBLE SILVER COLLECTION A SILVER VASE WITH SCENES FROM THE VESSANTARA JATAKALOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1915 9 1/4 in. (23.5 cm) high; 4 in. (10 cm) diameter; 13 troy oz (409 grams) approximate weight The Vessantara Jataka In the Vessantara Jataka , the bodhisattva who is subsequently reborn as Siddhartha Gautama perfects the virtue of generosity ( dana ). As Prince Vessantara, the bodhisattva gives away his kingdom's highly prized white elephant, which brings rain, to a kingdom suffering from severe drought. Yet, the gift is regarded by his own court as excessively generous and he and his family are forced into exile. En route to his forest retreat, Vessantara bestows his chariot and horses. Once settled, he even offers his children as servants to a Brahmin ascetic. Ultimately, Vessantara's actions are divinely rewarded and his family is reunited and recalled from exile. The act of giving earns relatively more karmic merit than other aspects of everyday lay Buddhist practice. Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, p.107, no.S108, fig.3.125.