This tall bowl or 'pala' has a combination of repousse, chased and open-work decoration. The walls are decorated with horizontal bands of different motifs such as the unusual kala heads around the rim and narrative scenes set against a backdrop of vegetal scrolls in open-work. Some of the figures represent royalty, a hermit and ogres. There are motifs in the lower band such as a tiger and female figure from the old Burmese tale of 'The Tiger Eating the Weaver'. Silver known as 'baw', was traditionally mined from the northern Shan states. However, during the colonial period, coins were more often melted down to make silver objects. Although the elaborate decorative style was sometimes influenced by colonial English taste, this bowl retains the traditional form of a ceremonial bowl associated with ritual use, as well as motifs related to traditional Burmese stories.
