Burmese lacquer is made from non-toxic resin from the thitsi tree (Melanorrhoea usitata) native to Southeast Asia.  Unlike toxic East Asian lacquers, non-toxic Southeast Asian lacquers may be worked with bare hands leading to different artistic potential.  Surprisingly, the darker raised decorative script (called med magyizi) is made from cinnabar mixed with boiled tamarind seed, not lacquer processed from the thitsi tree.