A SILVER LIME BOX WITH SCENES FROM THE RAMAYANALOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1900 2 1/2 in. (6.5 cm) high; 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm) long; 4 troy oz (135 grams) approximate weight Silver Lime Boxes Lime boxes are designed to contain a key ingredient in the custom of betel chewing, which is widespread throughout Southeast Asia and practiced by all socio-economic classes for over 2,000 years. Mostmonly, hosts present betel quid to guests as a sign of hospitality and friend. The betel quid contains three main ingredients: an Areca catechu palm nut; a Piper betel pepper plant leaf; and 'lime' paste (slaked lime, a mixture of calcium oxide and water). Additional ingredients may include tobacco, tree bark, black pepper, ginger, and other spices. Owning the silver accoutrements for betel chewing in was an indicator of status in Burmese society, as the vernacular medium for such objects was generally lacquer. 19th- and early 20th-century portrait photography of Konbaung royalty, Shan chiefs (Saohpas), and top-ranking Burmese families often featured silver betel boxes in the foreground. Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, p.100, no.S69, fig.3.102.