Pearl City Antiques Asian Art and Furniture

A crisply carved antique Chinese red cinnabar lacquer lidded round box with blue enamel interior and brass fittings. The "dragon's blood" trinket box has a fine peony, foliate and fl...

19th century antique Chinese hand painted lacquer scene gilt fan with original lacquer box.

19th century antique Chinese hand painted gold lacquer scene gilt fan 100 faces with original lacquer box, fan is 17 inch x 9.5 x 1, the lacquer fan box is 10....

These elaborate and deeply carved panels are mid-20th century. The carving is very detailed and on a rather deep heavy wooden panel. All the raised areas are richly detailed and gild...

A large vintage Chinese red cinnabar box with deep relief carved lid depicting peonies, trees and a landscape with a palace. The round box has...

19th century antique hand painted Chinese lacquer jewelry cabinet with a pair of raised panel doors opening to five drawers with turned ivory...

Post Qing Dynasty Cinnabar ginger jar & stand Exquisite high relief carved continuous landscape motif, complete with hardwood stand. Unmarked. T...

A rare palace size Chinese carved cinnabar lacquer figural box and cover, Qing Dynasty This palace size box and cover is a rare and exquisite piece of a...

Large antique Chinese carved and painted cinnabar lacquer style covered round box, top decorated in relief with two fierce, scaly, slithering dragons chasing a flaming pearl amongst ...

Vintage 20th century red cinnabar trinket box with ring. Hexagonal shaped box with geometric pattern around the sides and lid featuring a pair of figures under a gnarled pine tree. R...

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 Chinese Red Lacquer Lidded Box, Early 20th Century Provenance: Private Melbourne Collection. Dimension: Width: 16cm Height: 9.5cm Depth: 10cm