How is this made? japanese cigaret box

[Hose_dk]

I have this box for cigarets - proberly from the 1950s I would guess. Can anyone confirm?

But my question is regarding the collors in brown and black. On the back of the box the colors are missing completely. On front they partly still remain. Inside they look absolutely new and bright.
The box is marked STERLING and mark is a pagode/tempel or like.
But these colours brown and black - how are they made and what are they called. Pictures from outside and inside.

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[JLDoggett]

H-D, this is a process if inlay, similar to pique work, but in metal. Different alloys are used to create metal of different colours. This is something the Japanese mastered a few centuries ago and use to create some wonderful things. By adding metals like aluminum, zinc, antimony to the silver it changes the way the metal oxidizes. once you chose the oxidized colour you want, you cut the design from the proper metal, you cut an opening in the object to recieve the inlay, and (usually) solder the inlay in place. Once the piece is finished it is exposed to the oxidizer and voila, you have different coloured areas on the piece.

Admittedly this is more often seen with gold alloys than silver. Gold can be alloyed to produce quite a few colours. In silver I know of very few that are used. One other thing, the marks on your piece may refer to the body of the piece, but I have found in Japanese piece that the quality mark appears to be exclusive of any applied metals.
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[Hose_dk]

thanks for the replay. Very interesting. I have taken better pictures af mark. It only contains one mark.


and of the work
From inside


From the front page where some of the collours remain.


and the back where it has lost its collours.

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