£240
A FINE LARGE 19TH CENTURY CHINESE CARVED CINNABAR LACQUER CIRCULAR BOX AND COVER decorated all over with figures within landscapes, the body formed with foliage and vines. 21 cm x 9 cm. Note: The lacquer, sap from the Toxicodendron verticillium lacquer tree that is native to China, is mixed with colourings, with the usual colours being red from cinnabar, by far the most common, black from carbon (probably Chinese ink and soot),and a yellow or buff from orpiment, which is liable to fade to a dark colour and is often now hardly apparent. There appears to have been a change in the early Ming from using red from natural mineral cinnabar to synthetic vermilion. Some time after this, the colouring of the red changed from the previous brownish-red shade to a "bright scarlet", for reasons that remain unclear. The chemistry of other common pigments known to the Chinese at this period appears to have made them unsuitable for use in lacquer.
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