Pair of carved cinnabar lacquer cups. China 18th century.

These polylobed wooden cups covered with a thick layer of sculpted cinnabar red lacquer were to be used as planters. The interiors and undersides are lacquered in black. It is very likely that the interiors were lined with gilded copper or tin containers, in order to protect the lacquer from permanent humidity, the black lacquered backgrounds suffered from this humidity.A fractured place reveals a piece of textile. Some scholars affirm that the use of textile to reinforce the lacquers would no longer be practiced after the reign of Kanghi, at the beginning of the 18th century. Numerous damages, gaps and cracks. 232x180x82mm