Thai Mother of Pearl Inlaid Lacquer Alms Bowl, Early 20th Century
Thai Mother of pearl shell inlaid lacquer Alms bowl. Early 20th century diameter 11.42 in. Provenance: Estates late Adolphe and Asra Alexander, a German-Thai couple involved with architecture, interior design and import-export merchant trading, initially operating in Bangkok they moved to Brisbane in 1960. Asra was the daughter of a German merchant living in Thailand whose Company imported luxury European goods, and (with Royal warrant) counted the Thai palace among their customers. Thence by descent - private collection, Canberra.
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- Mother-Of-Pearl - Mother-of-pearl, technical name "nacre", is the inner layer of a sea shell. The iridescent colours and strength of this material were widely used in the nineteenth century as an inlay in jewellery, furniture, (especially papier mache furniture) and musical instruments.
In the early 1900s it was used to make pearl buttons. Mother-of-pearl is a soft material that is easily cut or engraved.
Nowadays it is a by-product of the oyster, freshwater pearl mussel and abalone industries.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- religious objects, Christian
