Mother-of-Pearl Double-Layer Box with Floral and Butterfly Motif
Craft
Width:17.7 x Height:5.3 x Diameter:17.7 (cm)
蓋:直徑17.7,高2._上層盒:口徑17.4,直徑17.4,高3.6._下層盒:口徑17.6,直徑17.6,高5.3
Liu Ching-Lin (b. 1946, Hsikou, Chiayi) currently resides in Fengyuan, Taichung. He began his career as an apprentice at the American company Millperthroe and went on to establish Han-San Woodworks in 1976, where he specialized in wood-based lacquerware. Skilled in working with natural lacquer, Liu collaborated with lacquer artist Chen Huo-Ching (1914-2001) to produce export goods and promote lacquer art education. With over four decades dedicated to lacquerware, he now serves on the executive board of the Taiwan Lacquer Culture Association and was recognized by Taichung City in 2014 as a preserver of “Lacquer Craft - Wooden-Base Lacquerware.”
This round, two-tiered box is thinly coated with dark brown lacquer, allowing the natural wood grain to remain visible. The surface is inlaid with mother-of-pearl: at the center, a ruyi cloud scroll is entwined with floral motifs, surrounded by a band of plum blossoms. Oval and rectangular ruyi motifs emerge among the vines, and three butterflies dance lightly among the scrolls. The box’s side features a repeating circular pattern, with shimmering nacre in hues of pearlescent white and creamy yellow. Multi-tiered lacquer boxes like this one have been used since the Han dynasty as women’s toiletry containers. Today, they serve as vessels for food presentation or as prized collectibles.
Accession number:20170300214