QING DYNASTY (1644-1911)

The technique of bamboo veneer involves stripping the interior surface of the bamboo cortex, soaking it and pressing it flat, and then applying it as a veneer to the base material of the object. It was a time-consuming technique that required extraordinary technical skill, but it nonetheless was a time-consuming technique that required extraordinary technical skill, but i nonetheless allowed for the production of works far beyond the range of shapes and sizes possible of the natural bamboo stem and root.
Compare to a similar bamboo veneer box and cover in the Palace Museum, Beijing, illustrated in Zhongguo meishu quanji gongyi meishubian - 11 - bamboo, wood and ivory, Beijing, 1987, p. 52, no. 58.