A SILVER OFFERING BOWL WITH SCENES FROM THE VESSANTARA JATAKALOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1925 The underside has an inscription, translated, "Mr Aung Kyi's bowl". 5 3/4 in. (14.5 cm) high; 11 3/8 in. (29 cm) diameter; 41 troy oz (1,269 grams) 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. 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.92, no.S60, fig.3.87.