Burmese Sadaik or Document Chest

Two lions, nose to nose, and mirrors where you might expect modesty.

This sadaik or document chest comes from Burma and dates to the 19th century, made of carved wood with mirror marquetry. Burmese Buddhist monasteries kept sacred manuscripts in chests like this, often gifts from lay donors earning religious merit. Raised lions face each other across the front among leaves and tendrils, their manes and bodies set with small pieces of mirror and dark glass on a golden ground. Red moldings frame the panel beneath a plain black lid. Twenty-nine inches long and eighteen high.

Scripture has seldom been kept in such flashy company.