Small offering vessel with domed cover

Title
Small offering vessel with domed cover
Year/Period
1930s
Region
Leikha, Shan State, Burma
Material
Dimension
Gross measurement: H: 28.5,
x Dia: 14.0 cm
Accession No.
2012-00537

This miniature offering vessel or hsun ok, has an impressive finial perhaps made of turned wood. It is decorated all over in red, yellow and black lacquer, and with incised animal motifs around the cover. This is one type of a wide range of small offering vessels. They were used to keep amulets and relics, as well as to make offerings of popcorn and other foodstuffs at a domestic shrine. These were sometimes built into a niche along the walls of a house, where daily offerings could be made.