Natural Red Cinnibar Chinese Resting Buddha Pendant. Cinnabar is often used to describe a Chinese style of carved, vermilion-colored lacquer. However, cinnabar is actually the name of a red mineral, a form of mercury sulfide, used to dye the lacquer. While most cinnabar objects are a deep scarlet hue, other lacquer colors can be achieved with different minerals, such as carbon for black and orpiment for yellow. View photos for more details.