Lidded offering container
1800–1925
Thailand
Lacquered wood with mother-of-pearl
Gift from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation’s Southeast Asian Art Collection, 2006.27.105.a-.b

Members of the royal family used sumptuous lidded offering containers consisting of a tray and a cone-shaped cove, to present food to monks during royal ceremonies.

A container similar to this one in shape and design but inlaid with gold rather than mother-of-pearl was used in the ceremonies in 1919 for the funeral of the wife of Rama V who was also the mother of Rama VI and Rama VII.