Title
Qur'an box
Year/Period
Late 19th century or early 20th century
Region
Myanmar
Object Type
Material
Technique
Dimension
Object size: L 33 x W 33 x H 19
Accession No.
1996-02182
Collection of
As Qur’ans are accorded immense respect by Muslims, they would be kept safely when not in use. Some Qur’ans are wrapped in cloth and placed on the top shelf of a cupboard, while others are put in specially made boxes for safekeeping. This box is decorated with relief-moulded designs and glass inlays in a style of Burmese lacquerware known as hman-zi shwei-cha. All four sides of the box have panels featuring the shahadah (Islamic profession of faith). While most Burmese are Buddhists, these calligraphic panels clearly indicate to us that this box was made for a Muslim home.
