Size:Height:85 x Diameter:50 (cm)

Introduction：This pair of lacquer vases, together with the pair of whole ivory pieces (GF400072-2), were presents from the birthday celebratory team of overseas Chinese in Laos, on October 31, 1959. The vases are lacquerware of copper body inlaid with mother-of-pear in red ground. Mother-of-pear is a material made of high quality pearl, mica, abalone, and other materials burnished into sheets with various colors. Depending on an object's composition of design, the sheets cut into desired shapes are inlaid into the surfaces of lacquer bases, which after sophisticated lacquer coating, make the products bright, elegant, black and white, simple and pure, and artistic. The vases are raised on a tall wooden base painted the same color, and the sides of the bases are decorated with mother-of-pear designs too.

Laos, named Laowo in ancient time, was established by Fa Ngum in 1353. In the mid-fourteenth century, it became a vassal of Vietnam. In 1873, Thailand invaded Laos, but since Vietnam was unable to provide protection, it became a vassal of Thailand. In 1893, French put pressure on Thailand, the Siamese agreed to cede Laos to France in the Franco-Siamese Treaty, and Laos became a French protectorate. In September 1940, Japanese troops occupied Laos. When Japan surrendered in 1945, the anti-colonial movement set off in Southeast Asia, and Laos established a provisional government and declared Laotian independence in the same year. The year of 1946 saw the restoration of King Sisavang Vong of Laos, and the drafting of the constitution and the election of members of congress. In 1949, France signed the General Agreement with Laos and acknowledged Laos' autonomy within the French Union. In July 1954, French signed a peace accord for Laos at the Geneva Conference and withdrew troops from Laos, ending the colonial rule. Since the independence, the armed conflicts among centrists, communists, and royalists had never ended. The year of 1959 saw civil war in Laos, and the local ethnic Chinese, about 100 thousand people, also suffered the upheaval.

Accession Number:CR04800304