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Betel box
Betel box

Betel box

Place of OriginShan state, Myanmar (Burma) or Northern Thailand
Dateapprox. 1875 - 1925
MaterialsSilver
DimensionsH. 2 1/2 in x Diam. 5 3/8 in, H. 6.3 cm x Diam. 13.7 cm
Credit LineThe Avery Brundage Collection
Object numberB60M130
DepartmentSoutheast Asian Art
ClassificationsMetal Arts
On View
Not on view
More Information

Painstakingly ornamented silver boxes for holding betel ingredients or tobacco would have been desirable luxury items among the Shan and northern Thai peoples. Chewing betel (a mixture of betel vine leaf, the nut of the areca or betel palm, quicklime, and sometimes spices or tobacco) was extremely popular.

The decoration on the side of this box, of eight stepped-cornered rectangles each enclosing an animal, calls to mind that of some Burmese lacquer objects such as 2008.81.A-.D (also a betel box), although here the animals are not easy to identify. They probably stand for the days of the week (with Wednesday, as was usual, divided in two).

The bottom of the box is entirely covered with an incised lattice pattern and the separated front and back halves of two small lion- or tiger-like creatures. Such patterns are thought to have been pictorial maker's signatures.