Silver Bowl, Laos

Silver Bowl

This is a finer than usual example of a Lao repoussed silver bowl. It sits on a flat, unmarked base. The sides are repoussed with a wide band of jasmine bud pendants followed by two bands of Buddha hair curls and bands of beading. The rim has been folded over to give it reinforcement and strength.

The northern city of Luang Prabang was an important centre for silversmithing until the 1975 revolution. Silver items were made for Buddhist lowlands people and the hill-tribe population. Although landlocked, the Kingdom of Laos was a busy thoroughfare between Burma, China, Cambodia and Thailand. Its arts show influence from all four. Silver was sourced from local silver bar-coins, French colonial coins and Chinese ingots.

Fraser-Lu, S., Silverware of South-East Asia, Oxford University Press, 1989.

UK art market