Lacquerware Boxes Antique Information

Lacquerware Boxes Antique Information.

Lacquerware in its most decorative form was first developed during the Shang Dynasty although primitive prehistoric examples have been found.

Lacquerwares include amber, jet, jade, quartz, chalcedony, agate, amethyst, sard, onyx, carnelion, heliotrope and jasper. Below are some examples of lacquerware boxes.

 

Lacquerware is named because of the technique used, which is that the item is covered with lacquer, a clear varnish.

Lacquerware boxes are not the only items which used this technique. Other objects includ Chinese furniture and other oriental furniture.

Antique lacquerware boxes can sometimes be inlaid with substances such as mother of pearl or it can sometimes be carved as in the image of the red cinnibar lacquerware box of the Yongle period.

History of Antique Lacquerware Boxes

Sophisticated techniques for creating lacquerware first appeared during the Shang Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty saw the beginning of elaborate, incised decoration while the Tang Dynasy saw precious metals such as gold and silver being inlaid into lacquerware. Much of this inlay consisted of birds, animals and flowers.

Burmese Lacquerware

Burmese lacquerware uses the sap tapped from the varnish tree Melanorrhoea usitatissima or Thitsee that grows wild in the forests of Myanmar (formerly Burma).