A large Burmese (Myanmar) carved teak shrine cabinet by Maung Hpo

the rectangular base surmounted by a tiered, multi-spired pediment, pierced and carved throughout with dense scrolling foliate motifs, mythical beasts and figures, the upper-middle section fitted with a series of arched and canopied niches flanked by carved pilasters, fretworked and carved in openwork relief, the front inscribed with a plaque 'MG HPO THIT, RANGOON, the base's rectangular top above two figural panels depicting warrior or mythological scenes flanking a central arched niche, and raised on a plinth base, accession no. I.M. 213-1920 to the right-hand side of the base, 204cm wide, 74cm deep, 258cm high, Gifted to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Mrs J M Strickland in 1920, and sold by the museum in 1946. Maung Hpo Thit was a Burmese craftsman active in Rangoon, the principal commercial and cultural centre of colonial Burma. His work reflects a broader transformation in Burmese craftsmanship following the Third Anglo-Burmese War of 1885, when craftsmen who had previously served the royal court in Mandalay increasingly produced furniture, sculpture and paintings for the growing European community in Yangon (then Rangoon) and for export. His finely worked decorative objects belong to this market, which brought established Burmese artistic traditions to local, expatriate and international audiences. The number written to the right-hand side of the altar, 'I.M. 213-1920', corresponds to part of the numbering system used by the Victoria and Albert Museum for objects in its Indian collections between 1909 and 1944, and refers to the Indian Museum. The India Museum was founded by the East India Company in 1801 and, following its closure as a separate institution, responsibility for its collection passed to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria and Albert Museum) in 1879. In November of that year, 19,228 objects were transferred from the India Office to the Science and Art Department, which administered the South Kensington Museum. The V&A's Indian Section was established in 1880, while the collection continued to be referred to as the India Museum until 1945, when the 'IM' (Indian Museum) prefix was replaced by 'IS' (Indian Section). Condition Report, Condition Report, The lower section top split. Scratches Repairs and small carved areas lacking in places. The back reinforced. Knocks, chips and lossed throughout associated with age. Request A Condition Report, Request A Condition Report

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