Antique Betel Nut Serving Box Primitive Thailand Carved Teak 19th Century

Description: Antique Betel Nut Serving Box Primitive Thailand Carved Teak 19th Century Beautiful vintage betel nut service box from Thailand Circa 19th Century. Hand constructed from teak wood with carved and painted geometric designs on all faces. This box is in good condition considering its age and use. It has a great patina and really shows its mettle. The bottom of the top serving tray is missing, but can be easily replaced if you intend to use it for its purpose. These boxes were part of the ancient social setting when serving betel nuts. They would hold the nuts plus the various accouterments for preparing and serving a variety of this delicacy. Betel nuts are consumed like chewing gum throughout the Pacific Rim area and are an addictive substance that ranks with nicotine and alcohol for potency. Many experts compare it to drinking "lots of coffee" or even cocaine when used in excess. In much of the SE Orient today there are dive-up Betel Nut fast food joints usually manned by young scantily clad females who serve their customers from a box much like this one: It's the old and new all rolled up into one. SIDE NOTE: Many years ago I was working at an inpatient drug detox facility and I saw my first and only case of betel nut addiction. I knew about betel nuts only because I had a role in a high school presentation of South Pacific and was in the chorus singing about how Bloody Mary was "Always chewing betel nuts.." (The play's director had to explain to us exactly what that meant so we did not get it confused with some other kind of Mary's blood or Bloody Mary! See the photo!) Regardless, the other staff at the detox had no clue what Betel nuts were and thought it was "cute" that the patient had brought his own "ethnic food" along with him and decided he should be able to keep them with him in his room (he was there to detox from alcohol)! That is the kind of pervasive cluelessness that eventually encouraged me to leave the addiction treatment world and resume a normal life. But I digress....BLOODY MARY'S GOT 'EM Delectable Collectible Stuff We always have a lot of quirky & odd-ball collectible stuff on hand. Come to think of it, since "collectible" is in the eye of the beholder, you might even have to be a bit of a quirky odd-ball to like what we have! So, click right here to see if you qualify:https://www.ebay.com/str/portlandpandemonium/Delectable-Collectables/_i.html?store_cat=38704205017 We Will Scratch Your Vintage Itch Listing and template services provided by inkFrog

Price: 35 USD

Location: Newberg, Oregon

End Time: 2025-01-14T00:29:44.000Z

Shipping Cost: 12.4 USD