Burmese Wood Opium Box

A half-moon of stepped arcs with two little birds facing each other at the bottom

This opium box is from Burma, and dates to the 19th century. It is lacquered wood. British smuggling of Indian opium into China led to the First Opium War, and the 1842 Treaty of Nanking opened more ports to the West, legalized opium imports and ceded Hong Kong. A semicircular, dark brown piece with concentric curved bands around a low arch. Two small birds with fanned tails face one another inside the arch, with sprigs between them. The surface is smooth with fine raised lines. It is 15.25 inches wide, 7.5 deep and 5.25 high.

A tiny courtyard for two birds, with a really excellent ceiling.