Burmese Lacquerware

Burmese or Myanmar lacquerware has been used since the Bagan period stretching back almost a millennium. The technique probably originated in China, and there has been exchanges of methods and designs between China, Burma and Thailand (especially Lanna/Chiang Mai). Lacquer has not been used in Burma to produce paintings, such as is being done in Vietnam, but it has been used to create everyday objects, in particular betel boxes, though also more refined objects for use by monks and in the temples, and even by Royalty. It was noted by colonial Europeans that the best pieces of lacquerware seem to originate from the Shan State, and some of them were presented as gifts to visiting envoys and even to the Emperor of China. The very best lacquerware pieces may be considered a pinnacle of Southeast Asian art along with Indonesian batik and Khmer sculpture.

A new publication by Thavibu is: Antique Lacquerware Boxes - Masterpieces of Burma on Academia