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Antique/Vintage Black Lacquer Monk’s Offering Hsun-Ok, Burma/Myanmar (6211BSK) SPECIAL PRICE

Original price was: $695.00.Current price is: $650.00.

H: 26.25″ Dia: 12.5″ |CALL 213-568-3030 OR EMAIL VANISHINGARTS@GMAIL.COM FOR SHIPPING COST

Artfully shaped hsun ok pieces to hold offerings to monks and make merit reveal much about Burmese artisans: exceptional lacquer ware skills, support for monks and devotion to Buddhism. This large elegant Hsun Ok has a flaring pedestal, lid with a finial symbolizing a Buddhist stupa and applied mythical animals and floral decorations. Early 20th century pieces with these special details are harder to find and copies abound.

 

Description

A hsun ok is a graceful, lidded lacquer vessel used in Theravada Buddhism in Burma/Myanmar by devotees to carry offerings for monks to monasteries or temples to “make merit” toward Buddhist enlightenment. Filled with items such as rice, fruit, boiled eggs, and other gifts, they are traditionally carried by women who place them in altars or next to Buddha images. The spire’s circular levels of this piece are lined in red cinnabar, its wide spiral base is intricately decorated with four evenly placed quatrefoils with mythical animals and interspersed with flowers surrounded by elegant curving elements topped by a tall finial representing a Buddhist stupa. Lacquerware is a traditional Burmese craft dating from the 13th century, and was the preferred gift by Burmese kings to foreign envoys.  Constructing a hsun ok is very labor and time intensive, especially for pieces with intricate designs. The skeleton is wood, bamboo, or lacquer and the surface is covered black lacquer covered with multiple layers of red cinnabar lacquer (hinthabada) sometimes ending in a black surface. Lacquering takes weeks and applications to make pieces resilient. Raised decorations are formed from mixed lacquer sap and ash hand rolled, and carefully applied. This large hsun ok in very good condition with a fine patina, some surface losses, and minor damage on the top edge of the bowl.

Additional information

Place of Origin

Burma/Myanmar

Period

Antique/Vintage

Date

Early 20th Century

Materials and Technique

Wood

Dimensions (inches)

Ht: 26.25” Dia: 12.5”

Dimensions (metric)

Ht: 66.68cm Dia: 31.75cm

Condition

Very good, see description

Item Number

6211BSK

Shipping Box Size