Readers may be interested in this Friday with Friends talk by David C Owens on Burmese silverwork on Feb 26.
From the mid-19th through early 20th century, Myanmar experienced radical political, economic, and social change in the wake of British colonisation. This change also coincided with an extraordinary renaissance in the traditional art of silversmithing. The reasons for this are numerous, but many can be linked to the impact of colonisation on sumptuary laws, economic activity, and the supply of silver. This presentation will review the Burmese silver age from many perspectives, including silver sources, craftsmanship, provenance, artefact design, and utility, and will discuss the unique art that embellishes much of the silverwork.
