Not currently on display at the V&A

Ivory Goblet

late 19th century (made)
Place of origin
Moulmein (made)
Burma

The tall cylindrical body rests on a hemispherical cup which has a baluster-shaped stem of openwork tracery, rising from a flat circular foot. The body is decorated with incidents which occurred at King Shuddhodana's Ploughing Festival; on one side is seen the King driving his golden plough drawn by two humped bullocks; on the other side the boy Buddha is seated beneath a rose-apple tree (Eugenia Jambu) whose shade did not move from him and beside are the Rishis [Rsi = seer or visionary] chanting praises and mantras. The edges of the mouth and of the foot, are encircled by narrow rings.


Object details

Object type
Ivory goblet
Materials and techniques
Carved and pierced ivory mounted in (?) gold
Ivory
Gold
Carving
Piercing
Brief description
Burmese goblet of carved and pierced ivory with scenes from the Life of the Buddha. ca. late 19th century
Physical description
The tall cylindrical body rests on a hemispherical cup which has a baluster-shaped stem of openwork tracery, rising from a flat circular foot. The body is decorated with incidents which occurred at King Shuddhodana's Ploughing Festival; on one side is seen the King driving his golden plough drawn by two humped bullocks; on the other side the boy Buddha is seated beneath a rose-apple tree (Eugenia Jambu) whose shade did not move from him and beside are the Rishis [Rsi = seer or visionary] chanting praises and mantras. The edges of the mouth and of the foot, are encircled by narrow rings.
Dimensions
  • Height: 22.3cm
Production typeUnique
Credit line
Curzon Bequest
Object history
Exhibited in Eastern Art Objects Exhibition 1910; Bethnal Green , Cat. no 4
Bibliographic references
  • Fraser-Lu, Sylvia. Burmese Crafts - Past and Present Oxford University Press, 1994. 113-116p., ill.
  • Koldeweij, A.M., In Buscoducis: 1450-1629. Kunst uit de Bourgondische tijd te 's-Hertogenbosch. De cultuur van late middeleeuwen en renaissance, 2 vols., Maarssen: Gary Schwartz, 1990.
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IM.192-1927

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Record createdNovember 16, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O12157/ivory-goblet/
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