Ceremonial trays (talam or tahas) survive from both Central and Eastern Java and are represented on the reliefs of the monumental temple of Borobudur (circa 778-850). They were are used to present offerings or convey ritual objects. Typically, the central motif is an auspicious conch (shankha) or "Vase of Plenty" (purnaghata or purnakalasha). Lotus blossoms can be in the vase or placed underneath it. Central Javanese trays usually have only the center adorned with symbolic designs, while Eastern Javanese trays characteristically have bands of concentric decoration. The outer rims differ also, with Central Javanese trays having either a low upturned rim or a high flanged rim with a sloped side, while Eastern Javanese trays customarily have a low flanged rim with a vertical side and projecting lip. See J. E. van Lohuizen-de Leeuw, Indo-Javanese Metalwork (Stuttgart: Linden-Museum, 1984), pp. 129-134, nos. 97-106; and Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer and Marijke J. Klokke, Divine Bronze: Ancient Indonesian Bronzes from A.D. 600 to 1600 (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988), pp. 151-153, nos. 99-101, especially p. 152, no. 100.
The LACMA tray hails from Eastern Java based on the aforementioned design features. The central motif is a stylized double thunderbolts (vishva vajras), which suggests it was used in a Buddhist context. It is surrounded by concentric bands (inner to outer) of a zigzag pattern, abstract scallops, and scrolling foliage. Between the bands are narrow boarders of two rows of dots.
A comparable Eastern Javanese ceremonial tray is in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (MAK 387 [loan]).