Vintage Chinese Carved Cinnabar Red Lacquer Box, Republic Period

This rare Chinese Art Deco box is made from copper alloy. The top is decorated with hand carved black cinnabar and highlighted with a finely carved bone figure...

This extraordinary cinnabar lacquer box is a masterpiece and exemplary among the highest level of intricate masterful ancient Chinese traditional ...

17th Century English Jacobean Carved Oak Bible Box. Period Jacobean solid dark oak bible box from the 17th century. The front is beautifully carved wi...

This is an exceptional, fine and impressive antique French enamel polychrome painted casket. Each panel of the box is painted in the 18th century manner with charming landscape motiv...

Chinese Export Coromandel lacquer and gilt six fold screen. Exceptional and rare six panel intaglio lacquer carving from the mid-20th century. It depi...

Chinese Painted Vintage Elm Hall Cabinet. Wonderful vintage Chinese hand painted cabinet in solid Elmwood with original antique finish. With two front...

A petite Chinese cinnabar lacquered turtle box, circa 1980's. The box is in very good vintage condition and measures 3.5"W x 2.5"D x 1.75"H. #3427

Red lacquer box with the lid representing a scholar and children playing in a mountainous garden, the outer sides covered with repeated geometric patterns. This box was made in China...

Beautiful little box lacquered with red and black Cinnabar forming a peony decoration. Cinnabar lacquer is an Asian technique that comes from cutting an...

Large Chinese Export Famille Verte peach motif box, Republic period, exquisite all over decoration with peaches, trees and flowers. Unmarked.

This intriguing Chinese zhadou is intricately carved of fine cinnabar lacquer. A work of exceptional artistry, this covered bowl is adorned with an intricately carved floral motif on all surfaces, including the cover and the wide rim. Also known as a cuspidor or spittoon, this rare container would have been used by members of the imperial family and scholar- officials at the court. Carved during the Kangxi period (1662-1722), this charming piece exhibits the high detail and charm associated with items from that period, making it a true treasure, Early 18th century (Kangxi dynasty) Measures: 6 ¼” wide x 3 ¼” high Cinnabar has been revered for its color all over the world. It has been found in the royal burial chambers of the Mayas, in the rituals of India, and in the ruins of ancient Greece and Rome. In China, cinnabar and gold were the two most important elements in alchemy. Mined since the Neolithic Age, cinnabar is the ore of mercury, and as such, it can be incredibly toxic, especially when mining. In fact, during the Roman Empire, miners at Spain’s Almadén mine in Spain were frequently exposed to mercury fumes, and the subsequent, often fatal, sickness was considered an occupational hazard. The most popular known use of cinnabar is in Chinese carved lacquer-ware, a technique that is believed to have originated in the Song Dynasty, in which cinnabar is ground to a powder and added to clear lacquer. As with mining, there was inherent danger of mercury poisoning for those who carved the lacquer, as mercury was also released into the air when artisans ground the pigments. Most antique cinnabar...

A lovely Chinese turquoise cloisonne trinket box with images of the Hundred Antiques, Republic Period, circa 1920, China. The rectangular box de...