All Artifacts
The items listed on this website are collection of artwork and artifacts from Myanmar (formerly known as Burma). The items are from the estates of Neil Sowards (President of Friends of Burma) and sister. His parents, Erville and Genevieve Sowards, were missionaries to Burma from 1921 to 1966 (with breaks). His sister, Genevieve Myrtle Sowards Gillen, was born in Burma and visited a number of times. His parents’ items were collected from 1921 to 1966. Genevieve’s collection began in 1990 and ended in 2010.
If you’re interested in an item, please email president@friendsofburma.org and include the item number, description, or link. Please note that shipping and handling costs are not included in the listed price.
Man harvesting palm sap (Toddy)
$100
59. Watercolor painting by Burmese artist A. T. Nyunt, 1990s with man harvesting palm sap (Toddy). Over all dimensions 11 3/8 by 9 1/2 inches. One mat with glass. Painting is 6 1/2 by 4 1/2 inches (165 x 113 mm.) The Burmese harvest the sap from the toddy palm, boil it down, and make palm sugar. They use a very flimsy ladder which they tie to the tree and climb up it. If you look carefully, you can see the pots in the top of the tree which are collecting the sap. The man in the foreground is carrying two pots of sap. Once when we were driving from Mount Popa to Meitila we saw this process. We stopped and since it was the first pot to be collected, they really wanted us to taste it because they believed the more who tasted the first pot, the greater would be the harvest. So we obliged and I hope it bought him good luck.
