Antique Finely Carved Large Chinese Cinnabar Box with Blue Enameled Interior antique work on paper with an all-over pattern of

with an all-over pattern of hairline cracks in the surface of the lacquer as well some chips particularly around the edges

and I love him all the more for the wear

The plate/dish measures about 6

I especially love him from the top view

Antique Finely Carved Large Chinese Cinnabar Box with Blue Enameled Interior antique work on paper with an all-over pattern ofI am amazed by the fineness of so many Chinese antiques, and the more I look at real Chinese Cinnabar carving, the more amazed I am. This unusually large box would have been entirely carved by hand, then coated with many successive layers of lacquer. Cinnabar takes its name from the red mineral, a form of mercury sulfide, used to dye the lacquer (while the other colors have sometimes been used, red is most common, most likely due to the association of