Go Sighting #15: Qing Style Carved Cinnabar Lacquerware Go Bowls

Qing Style Carved Cinnabar Lacquerware Go Bowls
This set of carved cinnabar lacquerware go bowls has an inscription on the bottom which says it was made during the Qing Dynasty Kangxi Era (康熙 1661-1722). I am not an expert in Chinese antiques so I’ll just label it as “Qing style”. But to my untrained eye, I think the details do not look meticulous enough to be representative of a fine Qing Dynasty item. I would venture to guess that it is from the early to mid 20th century.

The lid shows a nice portrait of go players from ancient China enjoying a game of go. This depiction is repeated twice on the outside of each bowls. There are also two large floral decorations carved on the outside as well.

They might look nice but they don’t smell nice. I doubt I’ll really use them much in games especially after reading about how cinnabar lacquerware is made. It seems that they are made by combining mercuric sulfade with lacquer. Thus they can potentially pose a health hazard. So it looks like something I should just store away as a curio rather than use during my games.

More information on Chinese Cinnabar Lacquerware:
http://www.go-star.com/antiquing/lacquerware.htm
http://ezinearticles.com/?Chinese-Cinnabar-Lacquerware&id=775048