Featured Antique Paper mache box.

Hi everyone!
I found this really interesting nesting type box at a thrift store. From what I can see is made from wood, lacquer and maybe paper mache. It's very well made with intricate drawings all over the piece. It seems to have some Arabic writing on it but I'm not sure.

Does anyone have an idea as to the history of this item?

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/0aib9amtwx86dow/AAAoSze6WXJNbYIjDEqsDc7Va

Thank you in advance.
Matthew

 

Hey MC , welcome aboard.
Folks here....not so fond of links. so if you could upload pics...under 1 mb....that would be welcomed too !

 

Welcome!
As Komo said, most of us will not look at links for 2 reasons, dangerous (especially with a new member) and time consuming especially if we're on a phone.
Please always use the full image button for your photos shown within your post.

 

I think they are just tourist type ware,but pretty.Here ya go...

 

Hello Matthew, welcome.
That's a very nice set of boxes. They are Burmese (Myanmar) lacquer betel leaf boxes. Betel leaf has a peppery taste and it is chewed in parts of Asia, often with tobacco or areca nut. Visitors are offered betel from these boxes as a sign of hospitality.
The writing is Burmese script, which is more upright and rounded in shape than Arabic.

 

Much nicer than a typical souvenir. Probably from Bagan, the center of lacquer production in Burma.

Look closely: those designs are engraved, not painted. A lot of skill and a lot of time involved in getting those layers of lacquer applied.

See here:

http://bagan.travelmyanmar.net/bagan-lacquerware.htm

Over time, Burmese lacquer develops cracks pretty easily, so take care handling these. Value depends a lot on condition and how intricate the design work.

 

They certainly are, and not just made as souvenirs, but also for domestic use.

 

Thank you all very much for the info! Sorry about the link... I'll be sure to post only pictures next time.

The images on the piece appear to be "scraped" into lacquer and are not painted. It's actually a really nice effect that I've never seen before. There's a very distinct smell to it as well. Very pungent. I love all the imagery.

Matthew

 

Love the boxes. I just Googled betel to read more about it and the boxes. When I typed in Betal, Betal teeth came up! A bit shocking.

https://www.google.com/search?q=bet...rome..69i57.6509j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

It's one of those 'don't try this at home' things. Better to stick to the boxes.

 

I found some beautiful boxes searching around last night. I will definitely skip the parts that go into them.