Chinese Round Covered Bowl

Black pebble of a box, polished until it forgets it has a seam.

This round covered lacquerware bowl is from Shanxi Province, China, and dates to the 20th century. Lacquerware from northern China includes lidded bowls and containers for food, offerings and household storage, usually a wooden body sealed with layers of tree-resin lacquer. Fat, rounded lidded box with a high gloss in deep black. Faint scratches and a few dull spots show on the shoulder. It is 13 inches wide, 13 deep and 6 high.

Plain on purpose, and better for it.