hi, thanks for your replies, mart it was purchased from an antique dealer here in england. its all hand done, its real silver, with lots of subtle variations in the design, so it does look primitive that's part of what appealed to me. the iphone pics don't show the patina, wear etc very well, i'll take some better ones with the camera. its been looked at by two other dealers who didn't doubt it was old. both handled the bowl. one said it was possibly burmese. i really am intrigued by this one so i thought id throw it out for help. anybody any thoughts on age origin? cheer, a.