Antique Finely Carved Large Chinese Cinnabar Box with Blue Enameled Interior Yugoslavia The design on the sides

The design on the sides of the box mimics a woodgrain pattern and is in deeper relief

I have not attempted to polish this clip as I like the patina

I'd guess)

in Japanese--made of native clay and known for its bold designs

I have not found another quite like it

Antique Finely Carved Large Chinese Cinnabar Box with Blue Enameled Interior Yugoslavia The design on the sidesI 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