Alright, let’s talk about this carved cinnabar lacquer box thing. I ain’t no fancy expert, ya hear? But I know a thing or two about stuff that looks old and pretty.
First off, what the heck is cinnabar anyway? Sounds like some kinda fancy spice, but it ain’t. It’s this red stuff, they use it to make that real pretty red color on them boxes. Like, real, real red. Not that fakey tomato red you see on cheap plastic toys. This red is deep, like blood, almost. They say it’s somethin’ called mercury sulfide, but don’t ask me what that means. Sounds like somethin’ a doctor would say, and I ain’t got time for doctors.
Now, these boxes, they ain’t just painted red. Oh no, they’re carved too. Can you imagine that? Someone sittin’ there, tiny little tools in their hands, makin’ all them swirls and flowers and whatnot. Takes a steady hand, that’s for sure. My hands are too busy washin’ dishes and feedin’ chickens for that kind of fancy work.
- They say the good ones, the real good ones, have hundreds of layers of that lacquer stuff. Hundreds! Can you believe it? That’s like paintin’ a barn a hundred times, only smaller and fancier.
- And the carvin’, that ain’t no joke either. Them fellas who make these boxes, they gotta be real patient. They carve all kinds of things, dragons and flowers and birds, all sorts of stuff.
How do you know if it’s a real one, not some cheap knock-off from the market? Well, they say you gotta look close, real close. Use one of them magnifying glasses if you got one. If it’s real, you’ll see the marks where they carved it. Little scratches and stuff. If it’s fake, made of plastic, it’ll be all smooth and shiny, like a baby’s butt. And sometimes, you might see little bubbles too, that’s a dead giveaway. Plastic ain’t got no soul, ya know? It can’t hold the stories like somethin’ made by hand.
I saw one of these boxes once at a neighbor’s house. It was old, real old, belonged to her grandma or somethin’. It had dragons all over it. Scary lookin’ things, but beautiful too. All that red and gold, shinin’ in the light. I tell ya, it was somethin’ special. Made me think about all the stories that box could tell. Who held it before? What did they keep inside? Maybe love letters, maybe jewelry, maybe just some old buttons. Who knows?
Where can you find these boxes? Well, I ain’t shoppin’ for no fancy boxes, I got bills to pay and mouths to feed. But I hear tell you can find ’em in antique stores, or online. There’s this place, 1stDibs they call it, sounds mighty fancy. They got all sorts of old stuff, furniture and what not. They probably got these cinnabar boxes too, but I bet they cost a pretty penny. More than I can afford, that’s for sure. I’d rather spend my money on a good bag of feed for the chickens, ya know?
Some of them boxes are shaped like Buddhas, some got eagles on them, some are just plain boxes with pretty carvin’s. I even saw one shaped like a bottle, never seen nothin’ like that before. They come in all shapes and sizes, I guess. It just depends on what the fella makin’ it felt like doin’ that day.
So, there you have it. That’s all I know about carved cinnabar lacquer boxes. They’re pretty, they’re old, they’re probably expensive, and they’re made by folks with a whole lot more patience than me. If you find one, take good care of it. It ain’t just a box, it’s a piece of history, a piece of someone’s life. And that’s worth more than all the money in the world, if you ask me.
Tags: [Carved Lacquer, Cinnabar, Chinese Art, Antique Box, Lacquerware, Collectible, Red Lacquer, Decorative Box, Vintage, Hand Carved]
