Vintage Burmese Lacquer Hand-painted Elephant Thanaka Bu Box Betel Pagan Myanmar

Description

Vintage Burmese Lacquerware from Pagan, Burma -
Elephant Design
Hand-painted Thanaka Bu or
Betel
Box
This Vintage Lacquerware Box from Pagan, Burma (Myanmar) is a fine example of lacquerware, one of Burma's great creative traditions. It is likely a Thanaka Bu Storage Container to hold Thanaka cosmetics, as it contains one inner tray; or possibly a Kun It container to store betel nut ingredients.
The container includes a top domed and ridged lid, one inner tray, and a deep-bottom ridged base. The lid features a charming painting of a walking elephant and is decorated with the traditional colors of red, orange, green and black. The domed lid and ridges make this container very rare. Likely crafted in the early-to mid-20th
century in Pagan.
This container is in very good vintage condition, with the inside tray and base displaying signs of use and wear, and the upper lid showing cracks and wear typical of vintage lacquerware.
See photos for details of condition.
The lacquerware craft originally came from China in the 1st century. Traditionally extraordinary fine lacquerware bowls and containers were produced with a combination of horsehair and bamboo to make them very flexible. Lacquerware is crafted from a mixture of the juice of the Thitsi tree and ash applied on the surface of objects such as woven bamboo or wood.
A multicolored lacquerware item takes approximately 6 months to complete, as the entire process involves more than a dozen steps to complete. Successive layers of lacquer are applied to the object to eliminate irregularities and then it is dried several days. When fully dry, the surface is polished to a smooth finish, and ornamental and figurative designs are added to enhance the lacquerware. Traditional colors are red, orange, yellow, green and black. The finest Burmese lacquerware comes from the Pagan region.
Box is approximately 6.75 inches high, 9 inches in diameter.