Green Lacquered Burmese Betel Box

Green & Gilt Lacquered Betel Box (Kun It)

Shan States, Burma

late 19th century

height: 21.5cm, diameter: 23.4cm

The exterior of this superb betel box (kun it) is decorated in green and embellished with widely-spaced shwei-gyin-khat flowers in gold leaf against an under or incised decoration in blue-black of a repeated geometric trellis motif. According to Fraser-Lu (2000, p. 35) green lacquerware with blue and black incised designs were made in the Shan States of eastern Burma, possibly at Laikha.

The box comprises the base, the cover and two internal trays. The interiors of the box, cover and trays are in red-orange lacquer.

It was designed to hold leaves for the betel quid as well as receptacles that held the various other ingredients of the betel quid. The box is constructed from thin slithers of woven bamboo that have been lacquered and then gilded with a lacquer and ground gold leaf covering.

Green lacquer betel boxes from the nineteenth century rarely are encountered now. All the internal trays are present. There is minor scuffing and minor fritting to the rim of the foot, but overall, this example has a beautiful patina and is in a relatively fine condition.

This item was obtained in the UK and almost certainly came to the UK during the colonial era.

Provenance

UK art market

References

Fraser-Lu, S., Burmese Lacquerware, White Orchid Books, 2000.

Isaacs, R., & T.R. Blurton, Burma and the Art of Lacquer, River Books, 2000.

Inventory no.: 1525

SOLD

The base