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Chinese snuff box made of Cinnabar * lacquer, decorated with Asian characters in wooded landscapes with pagodas, as well as vegetal motifs, signed below, from the 20th century.
This snuffbox is in good condition. It is signed below. We did not open the cork so we did not break it.
Remember: tiny accidents, dirt and wear and tear, see photos.
In Europe as in India, lacquer is a substance like a gum deposited on trees by certain species of insects, such as "tachardia lacca". This substance collected on the tree has been used to imitate the lakes of far east on japanese or sinister furniture since the XVIth century. The lacquer, dehydrated and purified, contains according to the qualities up to 80% of "urushiol" (lactic acid). This material, thus pure, can be used directly as a transparent substance. If it is desired to obtain a colored material, it is sufficient to add special pigments, cinnabar for red, pine or lamp soot for black, and subsequently iron sulphate for black, Arsenic for green and brown. For white, mixture of lacquer and lead carbonate (white lead), already used before our era on Chinese lacquers
