This oval box has a cover decorated with a beaten design - a technique known as repoussé. Remains of white powder inside the box indicate that is was used for storing lime powder, a key ingredient used in chewing betel nut. Silver was the currency most valued by the hilltribes in northern Thailand. It was usually obtained through trade in the form of Indian and Burmese silver coins. Yao and Hmong metalsmiths were known to melt these down to make silver jewellery. This box was probably made by Shan silversmiths in eastern Burma. The Karen people, who live in Burma and northern Thailand, used a range of Shan silver items including betel boxes, smoking pipes and knives, which they sometimes traded with other hilltribe communities.
