BURMESE LACQUER HSUN OK

  This is a newly made piece that I acquired when a colleague asked me to transship it to a customer, and he did not follow through. The art of Bumese lacquer goes back hundreds of years.  We were fortunate when we were in Burma to go to the facility where they are made.  The skeleton of each piece is bamboo, and then successive layers of lacquer (which is a resin from trees) are applied – by hand.  Each layer is left to dry for a number of days, then polished.  Many, many layers are usually applied before the piece is finished.  So it takes a great deal of time to make one.  The hsun ok is an offering dish which is used to carry food, usually to the Buddhist temple.  Lacquer is a tremendously resilient and waterproof material, and can actually be used for food.  Most people, however, use these for decoration.  This is a lovely and elegant piece.  It stands a substantial 29” tall, and opens in the center, and the spire at the top comes off.    It has a slight chip in the lacquer on one edge, which would not be visible at all if displayed.  $250