Antique Hand Made Highly Decorated Burmese Gilded Wood Lacquerware Pillow Box For Sale

For your consideration is an antique Burmese gilded lacquerware pillow box. With it's distinctive concave top, this box is hand crafted and elaborately decorated by etching through multiple layers of lacquer and completely illustrated with artwork on the top, sides, feet, and bottom. Substantial in size, the box measures approximately 20” inches in length, 9” wide, and stands 8.75” inches in height.

Believed to date to the early twentieth century, this antique lacquerware box has seen honest use and there are minor chips, cracks, and corner bumps present as illustrated in the photos. This is quite normal for lacquer boxes of this age that were in regular use. An effort has been made through the years to conceal the small flecks of lacquer loss with like color lacquer or enamels and this has been well executed. This is a stunning and well crafted piece that presents itself well. Wear is commensurate to age and history of use so please regard the photos as they form a descriptive part of the listing.

To make lacquer containers, sap is drawn from the Melanorrhoeausitata tree found in north-eastern Burma. Pigments such as ochre, cinnabar, orpiment and indigo are added and mixed to achieve the desired color. A dozen or more coats are then applied to the base of the object (which may be bamboo or soft wood) resulting in a beautiful lustre that is waterproof and very durable. The object is then deftly decorated with a fine metal point which is used to etch grooves that are then filled with colored lacquer and sometimes gold leaf. The object is left to dry and then polished. This process is repeated several times and requires great skill, experience and time. A vessel of this size and level of detailed decoration would have taken several months to complete.

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