19TH CENTURY CHINESE CINNABAR LACQUER EROTIC PENDANT

A little off the beaten track for me, but it caught my fancy.  Made of cinnabar lacquer. Successive layers of lacquer, which is a tree resin, are applied by hand and left to dry for several days.  Then they are carved/polished and the next layer is applied.  Many layers are required for the finished product.  So it is a pretty labor intensive craft.   The color, which the Chinese used extensively, is provided by ground cinnabar, which is the ore of mercury.  Detail and subject matter are as shown.  The detail is good, especially considering the picture is twice the size of the piece.  Actual size is 2.5 x 1.25 inches (6.3 x 3.1 cm).  Just a fun thing to own.

$150