PROPERTY FROM THE NOBLE SILVER COLLECTION A SILVER TREASURE BOX WITH SCENES FROM THE VESSANTARA JATAKALOWER BURMA (MYANMAR), CIRCA 1910 The underside has a silversmith's insignia of a makara and an inscription, translated: "Po Kyaw's box". 5 7/8 x 13 1/4 x 7 7/8 in. (15 x 33.5 x 20 cm); 71 troy oz (2,207 grams) approximate weight Rectangular silver containers were used in wealthy Burmese homes to store valuables such as jewelry, cigars, and dried delicacies. A linear sequence of framed vignettes from the Vessantara Jataka epasses the sides, and an aplished rendition of the story's inciting incident of unfettered charity embellishes the hinged lid. In the Vessantara Jataka , the bodhisattva who is subsequently reborn as Siddhartha Gautama perfects the virtue of generosity ( dana ). The act of giving earns relatively more karmic merit than other aspects of everyday lay Buddhist practice. Therefore, serving as a didactic reminder of revered Buddhist values within the household, the jataka is a fitting choice for a relatively large treasure box that would have likely held luxury items to share with others. The box's lid depicts the bodhisattva as Prince Vessantara giving away his kingdom's highly prized white elephant, which brings rain, to a kingdom suffering from severe drought. The silversmith depicts the scene within a palatial audience hall teeming with attendees applauding Vessantara's selfless act; yet the prince is eventually regarded as excessively generous, he and his family are forced into exile. The box's sides depict him en route to his forest retreat, bestowing his chariot and horses, and then once settled, offering his children as servants to a Brahmin ascetic. Ultimately, Vessantara's actions are divinely rewarded and his family is reunited and recalled from exile.pare the silver fillet edge's floral ornamentation to a cheroot box also in the Noble Silver Collection, and dated by inscription to 1911 (Owens, Burmese Silver Art , p.55-6, no.S145, fig.3.22). Published: David Owens, Burmese Silver Art: Masterpieces Illuminating Buddhist, Hindu and Mythological Stories of Purpose and Wisdom , 2020, pp.52-3, no.S86, fig.3.16-7.