WORTHINGTON FINE ART GALLERIES

Very Large & Rare Chinese Qing Dynasty Hand Carved Cinnabar Vase | Beautiful Vase is hand carved with a village scene on Exterior, interior has gorgeous green lacquered finish | Circa: Qing Dynasty | Measures 19″ tall | In excellent condition.

Cinnabar (/ˈsɪnəbɑːr/) and cinnabarite (/sɪnəˈbɑːraɪt/), likely deriving from the Ancient Greek: κιννάβαρι (kinnabari), refers to the common bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide, formula HgS, that is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury, and is the historic source for the brilliant red or scarlet pigment termed vermilion and associated red mercury pigments.

Cinnabar generally occurs as a vein-filling mineral associated with recent volcanic activity and alkaline hot springs. The mineral resembles quartz in symmetry and in its exhibiting birefringence; cinnabar has a mean refractive index of ~3.2, a hardness between 2 and 2.5, and a specific gravity of ~8.1. The color and properties derive from a structure that is a rhombohedral crystalline lattice belonging to the hexagonal crystal system, crystals that sometimes exhibit twinning.

Cinnabar has been used for its color since antiquity in the Near East, including as a rouge-type cosmetic, in the New World since the Olmec culture, and in China since as early as the Song dynasty, where it was used in coloring lacquerware.