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This article gives an overview of material from Burma/Myanmar in the collections of the Náprstek Museum, with a focus on three types: lacquerware, silverware, and embroidery. Examples from the collection are linked by their use of narrative scenes as devices to embellish the surfaces, especially scenes from the life of the Buddha and scenes from the stories of his previous lives. Historical scenes are often depicted on lacquerware from Bagan. Techniques employed to decorate the objects are very much the same today as they were when the majority of the items discussed were made, that is in the 19th century.

The article presents a methodical survey of standard non-destructive analytical methods applied recently to metal objects in the museum. These methods have helped to classify and describe particular pieces in the museum's collection of metal objects in a more complex ethnological, historical and museological context.