"Returning Birds" — Artist Hand-Painted Lacquer Rectangular Tray

Returning Birds — Artist Hand-Painted Lacquer Tray

At dusk, birds return. It is one of the oldest images in Chinese art — a moment of homecoming, of the day folding back into itself. "Returning Birds" renders that moment in lacquer: an ink-wash composition translated into natural lacquer, eggshell inlay, and tin powder, built up over weeks of slow, meditative work by the artist’s hand.

The eggshell inlay is what sets this piece apart. Each fragment is placed individually, creating a surface that catches light differently at every angle — a texture that photographs cannot fully capture and that only reveals itself in person. At 480 × 280mm, the rectangular tray form gives the composition room to breathe.

Each piece is unique and signed by the artist. This is not a decorative object — it is a work of art that happens to be functional.

• Material: Natural lacquer, paper, tile ash, tin powder, eggshell inlay, linen fabric
• Construction: Paper body lacquerware — natural lacquer built over layers of paper and linen fabric
• Dimensions: 480 × 280 × 10mm
• Technique: Hand-painted with eggshell inlay — a process that can span several weeks per piece
• Origin: Handcrafted by YQ Lacquer (乙漆), Guangzhou, China
• Edition: Each piece is unique and signed by the artist

The eggshell fragments, lacquer depth, and tin powder distribution vary naturally across each piece — evidence of a process that cannot be standardised.