Antique Finely Carved Large Chinese Cinnabar Box with Blue Enameled Interior gifts for her et cetera—but due to the

et cetera—but due to the misdeeds of failed protohumans

There is some faint text

This box--measuring 8 1/2" long x 3 5/8" deep x 2 3/8" tall-- is in very good condition

The nutcracker stands 8" tall

Antique Finely Carved Large Chinese Cinnabar Box with Blue Enameled Interior gifts for her et cetera—but due to theI am amazed by the fineness of so many Chinese antiques, and the more I look at real Chinese Cinnabar carving, the more amazed I am. This unusually large box would have been entirely carved by hand, then coated with many successive layers of lacquer. Cinnabar takes its name from the red mineral, a form of mercury sulfide, used to dye the lacquer (while the other colors have sometimes been used, red is most common, most likely due to the association of