Burmese Gilt Shwe Zawa Panel

This fantastic gilt painted panel was originally the front of a 19th-century Burmese manuscript chest, or sadaik. The panel is decorated in black and gold by means of the shwe zawa lacquer technique, and likely depicts a tale from the Mahanipata Jataka, the Ten Great Birth Stories of the Buddha. The mythic tale is depicted with intricate linework that fills the entire panel and enclosed by a border of lotus blossoms. The gilt panel has been set within a simple rectangular frame, brushed with contrasting dark red lacquer.