Burmese Lacquerware from the
Collection of Marles Geist and Dustan Osborn

The hundred ethnic groups of Myanmar, isolated by the challenges of travel, have distinct customs, dress, and work skills. Intrigued by such skill and the beauty of the objects, Marles Geist and Dustan Osborn sought out examples, often of substantial age, and of distinctive styles produced in Mandalay, Bagan, Arakan, Bago, and Kyaukka. Myanmar, the largest country in the southeastern Asian peninsula is the least known. Diverse and bypassed by much of the world economy and cultural homogenization, “this is a land of beauty and mystery.”

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