Red Lacquer Burmese Betel Box - Ca 1920 Material - Glass scratches and the hand-punched Hindi

scratches and the hand-punched Hindi inscription of a previous owner

After the festival

The majority of this piece is cypress wood with the central floating panel constructed from huali (rosewood)  It has stylized bats carved into the side

and work particularly well beside a sofa or placed symmetrically on either side of a mantelpiece

Similar examples by Wakyosai can be found at The Art Institute Chicago

Red Lacquer Burmese Betel Box - Ca 1920 Material - Glass scratches and the hand-punched HindiThis Burmese lacquer betel box is called a kun it. These boxes were multifunctional and used both as tiffin boxes and betel boxes. This Burmese lacquer box is typical of the style and has a base orange red colour and is decorated with finely etched lines and dots. Tiffin boxes were used in the old days as lunch boxes or for packaging up small snacks which the colonials called tiffin. Betel boxes were used for holding betel leaves and other ingredients