This pair of carved wooden panels probably enshrined a Buddha image on an altar. The design consists of three interlaced planes of foliage organized in an undulating pattern known as tha-zin-khwei. The birds perched among the vines are either geese (hamsa, the emblem of Mon kings), or the Burmese crane (karaweik). Carved out of teak, the panels are embellished with lacquer and glass mosaic inlay (hman-zi shwe-cha), and finished with gilding. During the late Konbaung Period (1752-1885), King Mindon created an important Buddhist centre at the capital of Mandalay. These panels are relatively simple examples of the elaborate style typical of the time, although they are large in scale. They were probably made for a house shrine or a small monastery.
