Pearl Shell Inlay

Originating from the Shang dynasty, in the early 1980s, Chinese archaeologists unearthed a number of Western Zhou dynasty lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl at the Liulihe site of the Yan state in the Western Zhou period. Among them, one piece of lacquerware featured painted animal face and phoenix designs that employed the mother-of-pearl inlay technique. This is one of the earliest examples of mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquerware ever discovered in the world to date.