Lacquerware

East Asia

The oldest lacquer tree found is from the Jōmon period in Japan, 12600 years ago. Various prehistoric lacquerwares have been unearthed in China dating back to the Neolithic period and objects. The earliest known lacquerware in China is thought to be a red wooden bowl, which was unearthed at a Hemudu culture () site in Zhejiang, China.{{cite book |chapter-url-access=registration |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/china00robe/page/52

Chinese lacquerware

During the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BC) of China, sophisticated lacquer process techniques developed became a highly artistic craft.{{cite book

During the Eastern Zhou period (771–256 BC), lacquerware began appearing in large quantity. This is the earliest era from which notable quantities of lacquerware have survived,

At the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), special administrations were established to organize and divide labor for the expanding lacquer production in China.

In the Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese lacquerware saw a new style marked by the use of sheets of gold or silver made in various shapes, such as birds, animals, and flowers. Such techniques were time-consuming and costly, but these lacquerware were considered highly refined.

The art of inlaid gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl continued from the Tang into the Song dynasty (960–1279). Several existing decorative techniques gradually developed further after the 10th century, such as diaoqi (carved lacquer) which involves building up layers comprising thinly-applied coats of lacquer and carving it into a three-dimensional design; qiangjin (engraved gold) in which fine lines are incised, an adhesive of lacquer is applied, and gold foil or powder is pressed into the grooves; and diaotian or tianqi (filled-in) in which the lacquer is inlaid with lacquer of another color. However, during the Song, the artistic craft also made use of inlaid gold in a process of which is to engrave intricate patterns in the lacquer surface and to fill the intaglio with gold powder.

The knowledge of the Chinese methods of the lacquer process spread from China during the Han, Tang and Song dynasties, In Japan, the art of lacquerware-making came along with Buddhism and other cultural artifacts from China via the Korean Peninsula during the 8th century, One of the earliest Japanese techniques for decorating the lacquer surface was, besides painting simple designs, the gold and silver foil inlay of the Nara period (710–784). This technique was transmitted from China during the Tang dynasty.

Coromandel lacquer is a Chinese export type, so called because it was shipped to European markets via the Coromandel coast of India.

Gallery

File:Red lacquered bowl from the Hemudu culture(Neolithic) in Zhejiang Museum.JPG|Red lacquer wood bowl from the Chinese Hemudu culture dated to 4000–5000 BC, the oldest such piece ever found. File:Accompanying Coffin, Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (10166279464).jpg|Coffin from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng File:20230208 Painted lacquer lidded dou-bowl carved wirh dragons.jpg|Lacquer dou-vessel from the Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng File:Warring States Lacquer Box (10336758635).jpg|Lacquerware box, Warring States period, Henan Provincial Museum File:Painted Lacquered Wood Mandarin Duck-shaped Case (10166864494).jpg|Painted Lacquered Wood Mandarin Duck-shaped Case, Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng File:Lacquered Shield, Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng (10170326594).jpg|Lacquered Shield, Tomb of Marquis Yi of Zeng file:Warring States Lacquered Figure, Chu State (10162601104).jpg|Lacquered birdman (羽人) figure on a toad stand, Chu kingdom, Warring States period File:20230208 Painted lacquer box in the shape of two rear-to-rear pigs.jpg|Lacquer box in shape of pigs, Chu kingdom, Warring States File:Lacquerware from State of Ch'u.jpg|Lacquerware box from the Jingmen Tomb () of the State of Chu (704–223 BC) File:彩漆木雕小座屏，2014-04-06_05.jpg|Openwork lacquered screen with animal designs, Wangshan Tomb, Chu kingdom, Warring States period File:Lacquer painting from Ch'u State.jpg|Details on the Chu lacquerware box of the Jingmen Tomb, depicting men wearing precursors to Hanfu (i.e. traditional silk dress) and riding in a two-horsed chariot File:朱雀攫蛇漆豆AM.jpg|Zhuque zh-vessel, State of Chu Warring States, File:20230208 Painted lacquer square hu-jar with dragon-shaped handles.jpg|Painted lacquer zh-jar with dragon-shaped handles, Warring States period file:Lacquer box of phoenix pattern, Warring States, Zaoyang, Hubei, Hubei Museum.jpg|Lacquer box of phoenix pattern, Warring States era, Hubei Museum File:20230208 Painted lacquer flat flask with coiled serpents.jpg|Painted lacquer flat flask with coiled serpents, Warring States era File:MET DP100674.jpg|Lacquered winged goblet (:zh:羽觞), also known as "eared" or flanged cup (耳杯) from Warring States era Lacquer bowls of cloud design, Warring States, Jiangling, Hubei, Jingzhou Museum.jpg|Lacquered flanged cup with cloud designs from Warring States, Jingzhou Museum, Hubei File:Warring States Lacquer Eared Cup (10336760735).jpg|Lacquered winged cup from Warring States with geometric design, Henan Provincial Museum File:Warring States Lacquered Cup, Chu State (10162831913).jpg|Lacquer phoenix cup, state of Chu, Warring States File:20230208 Painted lacquer spouted cup with phoenixes.jpg|Lacquer phoenix cup, state of Chu, Warring States File:Qin lacquer box.JPG|Lacquer box incised with "Panyu" in seal script, Qin dynasty era, Guangzhou City Museum File:Qin-Han Lacquered Erbei (Eared Cup) (10163790226).jpg|"Eared" or flanged cup (耳杯), Qin-Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Qin-Han Lacquered Pot (10163478874).jpg|Lacquered flask, Qin-Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Qin-Han Lacquered Case (10163588574).jpg|Pig-shaped lacquered case, Qin-Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Mawangdui lacquerwares and tray.jpg|Han dynasty lacquerware unearthed at Mawangdui, 2nd century BC file:Mawangdui Han Lacquerware (10112576245).jpg|Lacquerware box from Mawangdui, Han dynasty. File:Mawangdui Han Lacquerware Screen (10112606213).jpg|Lacquerware screen from Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Qin-Han Lacquered Plate (10163532664).jpg|Lacquer dish, Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Western Han Inkstone & Lacquer Case (9831993673).jpg|Inkstone and lacquer case, Zhou Family Tomb (周氏墓), Linyi, Shandong, Western Han dynasty File:Lacquer flat plate with Cloud-dragon design and the words Marquis Dai's Household, Mawangdui, Changsha, Hunan, Hunan Museum, picture2.jpg|Lacquer dish with cloud-dragon design, Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Lacquer Wine-Cup Container.jpg|Lacquer Wine-Cup Container and wine cup set, Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Western Han Lacquered Eared Cup of Prince Tian Chang (9979164306).jpg|Western Han dynasty Lacquered flanged cup, known as winged goblet (:zh:羽觞) or "eared cup"(耳杯) of Prince of Tianchang File:Han Painted Pottery Eared Cups (11867425585).jpg|Lacquered pottery flanged or eared cup, Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Qin-Han Lacquered Erbei (Eared Cup) (10163662184).jpg|Lacquered flanged cup, known as winged goblet (:zh:羽觞), Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Qin-Han Lacquered Zun (10163965493).jpg|Lacquered zh, Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:西漢 黑地朱繪雲氣紋漆碗-Bowl with Geometric Designs MET DP355715.jpg|Western Han dynasty lacquer bowl File:Lacquer flanged cups and dishes.jpg|Lacquer flanged cups and dishes from Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Western Han Lacquered An (Table) (9979165496).jpg|Lacquered table, Western Han dynasty, Anhui Provincial Museum File:Kunming Oct 2007 044.jpg|Lacquerware in the shape of a man's head, Western Han (202 BC – 9 AD), Yunnan Provincial Museum, Kunming File:彩绘龙纹漆奁.jpg|Lacquer dressing case painted with dragon pattern, Chuzhou, Anhui, Han dynasty File:Qin-Han Lacquered Case (10163765166).jpg|Lacquered case, Han dynasty, Hubei Provincial Museum File:Lacquer Coffin Unearthed from the 2nd-century-BC Han Tomb No.1 at Mawangdui 2011-07.JPG|Lacquerware coffin of Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Mawangdui Han Second Coffin from Tomb -1 (10113019345).jpg|Second coffin of Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Mawangdui Han Third Coffin from Tomb -1 (10113109063).jpg|Third coffin of Mawangdui, Han dynasty File:Mawangdui Han Lacquerware (10112520884).jpg|Lacquerware pot from Mawangdui Tomb. File:Mawangdui Han Lacquerware (10112474374).jpg|Lacquered chest from Mawangdui. File:Lacquer from han dynasty mawangdui.jpg|Lacquerware flanged drinking vessels and plates from the Mawangdui Tomb. File:Lacquered Wooden Screen Reconstruction (9966944775).jpg|Lacquerware screen from the tomb of Zhao Mo, King of Nanyue (reconstruction) File:Lidded Cosmetic Box (Lian) with Scrolling Clouds and Supernatural Creatures LACMA AC1997.50.1.1-.2.jpg|Lidded cosmetic box, late Western Han dynasty, about 100 BC – 25 AD File:Small Round Lidded Cosmetic Box (Lian) with Scrolling Clouds and Birds LACMA M.2001.32.3a-b.jpg|Lacquered cosmetic box, late Western Han dynasty File:Oval Lidded Cosmetic Box (Duoyuan He) with Scrolling Clouds, Animals, and Birds LACMA M.2001.32.1a-b.jpg|Oval Lidded Cosmetic Box (Duoyuan He) with Scrolling Clouds, Animals, and Birds, late Western Han dynasty File:Pantings on Lacquar Basket Lo-lang.jpg| Chinese painted artwork on the lacquered basket of Lelang, a region of the Han dynasty. File:Painted Iacquer dish unearthed from the tomb of Zhuran 01 2012-05.JPG|Painted lacquerware dish from the tomb of Zhu Ran (182–249 AD) in Anhui province, showing figures wearing Hanfu, Eastern Wu, Three Kingdoms period. File:Painted Iacquer narrow table unearthed from the tomb of Zhuran 2012-05.JPG|Painted lacquerware tray from the tomb of Zhu Ran, Three Kingdoms period. File:Geta Unearthed from the Tomb of Zhu Ran 2012-05.JPG|Black lacquered clogs from the tomb of Zhu Ran. File:Painted Iacquer dish unearthed from the tomb of Zhuran 02 2012-05.JPG|Painted lacquerware dish from the tomb of Zhu Ran, Three Kingdoms period. File:Mirror with phoenixes, birds, and flowers - Google Art Project.jpg|Lacquered mirror with bronze and silver inlays, Tang dynasty file:Tang Mirror (50616050688).jpg|Black lacquered mirror back with four phoenixes, Tang dynasty File:China, Tang dynasty (618-907) - Song dynasty - Inlays for a Mirror or Box - 1969.78 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif|Lacquer mirror box with inlays for a Mirror, Tang - Song dynasty file:Bowl (Wan) in the Form of a Flower Blossom LACMA AC1994.208.1.jpg|Bowl in shape of a flower blossom, Song dynasty File:Cup (Bei) with Sword-Pommel Pattern LACMA M.90.70.2.jpg|Cup with Sword-Pommel Pattern, Song dynasty File:南宋 黑面剔犀劍環紋漆盒-Box with Pommel Scroll Design MET DP355771.jpg|Box with Pommel Scroll design, Song dynasty File:'Abbot' by Liu Yun, dry lacquer, dated 1099, Honolulu Museum of Art.JPG|Lacquered Buddhist abbot, Song dynasty File:南宋 黑漆葵瓣盞（一對）-Pair of Plum-Blossom-Shaped Cups MET DP360355.jpg|Black lacquered plum-blossom-shaped cup, Song dynasty File:Chest (Xiang) LACMA M.78.121.2.jpg|Black lacquer on wood core with wickerwork panels, Song dynasty File:Tablescreen with Calligraphy of Sima Guang's (1019-1086) Family Instructions LACMA M.2000.191.jpg|Tablescreen with Calligraphy of Sima Guang's Family Instructions, Song dynasty file:Tray (Pan) in the Form of a Plum Blossom with Birds and Flowers LACMA M.86.330 (1 of 2).jpg|Pan in the Form of a Plum Blossom with Birds and Flowers, Late Song dynasty File:黑漆嵌螺钿人物图盒.jpg|Black lacquered box with painted figures, Late Song dynasty File:WLA haa Table Yuan Dynasty.jpg|A lacquered table of the Yuan dynasty, 14th century, with an inlaid mother-of-pearl decoration of a tree File:Rectangular Box (Changfang He) with Sword-Pommel Pattern LACMA M.84.121.1a-b.jpg|Carved lacquer box with the "Sword-Pommel Pattern", Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) File:MET DP135209.jpg|Black lacquer box with pearl inlays, late Yuan to early Ming dynasty. file:明初 剔紅庭園高士圖漆盤-Dish with garden scene MET DP256068 (cropped).jpg|Lacquer Dish with garden scene, Early Ming dynasty File:Box with two phoenix birds and chrysanthemums, China, Ming dynasty, Yongle period, 1403-1424 AD, lacquer - Östasiatiska museet, Stockholm - DSC09540.JPG|Box, Ming dynasty, Yongle era (1403–1424) File:明中期 剔犀劍環紋漆盒-Box with pommel scroll design MET DP704136.jpg|Lacquer Box with pommel scroll design, Ming dynasty File:MET DP704124.jpg|Octagonal food box with pommel scrolls, Ming dynasty File:Stemmed Cup (Gaozu Bei) with Sword-Pommel Pattern LACMA M.79.89.1.jpg|Carved lacquer stem cup with the "Sword-Pommel Pattern", mid-Ming dynasty file:龙纹花瓣形雕漆盒 1520.jpg|Lacquer box with dragon motifs and inlays, Ming dynasty File:Covered box with dragon, China, Ming dynasty, Jiajing era, 1522-1566 AD, carved lacquer - Tokyo National Museum - Tokyo, Japan - DSC08303.jpg|Covered box with dragon motif, Ming dynassty, Jiajing era, 1522-1566 AD File:Seal Paste Box (Yinnihe) with Litchi Stems LACMA M.87.205a-b (1 of 2).jpg| Carved red lacquer on wood core, Ming dynasty File:朱漆描金百宝嵌庭院人物故事顶箱柜07587.jpg|Red Lacquer Wardrobes Inlaid with Various Treasures, Ming dynasty File:万历款填漆戗金云龙纹立柜.jpg|Lacquer cabinet with dragon and cloud motifs, from Wanli era, Ming dynasty File:Dragon on 万历款填漆戗金云龙纹立柜.jpg|Detail of lacquer cabinet with dragon and cloud motifs, Ming dynasty File:黑漆描金龙纹方角药柜07566.jpg| Black lacquered medicine cabinet with dragon patterns from Wanli era, Ming dynasty. File:Rectangular tray with dragons and pearl, China, Ming dynasty, dated 1623 AD, wood with lacquer - Linden-Museum - Stuttgart, Germany - DSC03517.jpg|Tray with dragons, Ming dynasty. File:明晚期_嵌螺鈿漆花鳥紋座屏-Table_screen_MET_DP-14362-001.jpg|Lacquer table-screen file:Late Ming-Early Qing Lacquered Case (9979458956).jpg|Late Ming - Early Qing dynasty lacquered Case File:Square Dish (Die) with Figure on Horse LACMA M.39.2.569.1.jpg|Square dish, Qing dynasty, Kangxi era (1662–1722) File:Cup with a poem composed by the Emperor Qianlong, China, Qing dynasty, 1736-1795, wood base, red and green lacquer - Royal Ontario Museum - DSC03964.JPG|Carved lacquer cup with a poem composed by the Qianlong Emperor (1735–1796), Qing dynasty File:Dinastia qing, vaso a doppia zucca in lacca intagliata, con otto emblemi buddisti, 1800-50 ca.jpg|Carved lacquer calabash-bottle, Qing dynasty File:Qing Lacquered Scripture Box (10152135216).jpg|Lacquered Scripture Box, Qing dynasty File:Cina, paravento in stile coromandel, lacca, madreperla, tartaruga e oro, 1750-1800 ca. 01.jpg|Coromandel lacquer folding screen with a courtly progress in lacquer, mother of pearl, tortoiseshell and gold, Qing dynasty, 1750–1800 File:Qing Ruyi.jpg|Carved lacquer ruyi, Qing dynasty File:Bruxelles Lit Qing 02 10 2011.jpg|Lacquer canopy bed, Qing dynasty File:MBAM_2009.84,_Chinese_canopy_bed.JPG|Lacquer canopy bed, Qing dynasty File:Qing_Red_Lacquer_Furniture.jpg|Lacquer table and chairs, Qing dynasty File:Lacquered armor of the Dali Kingdom.jpg|Lacquered armor of the Dali Kingdom File:Qing Lacquered Box.jpg|Qing dynasty Lacquered Box File:Qing Woven Bamboo Lacquer Fruit Case (9979373444).jpg|Woven Bamboo Lacquer Fruit Case, Qing dynasty File:Qing Lacquered Box - 1.jpg|Qing dynasty Lacquered Box File:Snuff bottle, 19th century, carved lacquer, Dayton Art Institute.JPG|Qing dynasty carved lacquer snuff bottle. File:Lacquered Furniture (10114201366).jpg|Carved lacquer chair, Qing dynasty File:Yi lacquerware.jpg|Lacquerware set by the Yi people.

Japanese lacquerware

Main article: Japanese lacquerware

The term for lacquer is urushi (漆), source of the English hybrid word "urushiol". Etymologically, urushi may be related to the words uruwashii ("beautiful") or uruoi ("watered", "profitable", "favored"), due speculatively to their value or shiny appearance, or perhaps the humidifying rooms used in production of lacquered wares. The term "Japanning" in the 17th century is a term for the technique used by Europe to emulate Asian lacquer, derived from the then famous Japanese lacquer.

The general characteristic of Japanese lacquerware is the widespread use of various Maki-e techniques compared to other countries. As a result, there are many works in which relatively vivid gold and silver patterns and pictures shine on the black base of lacquerware, and the entire lacquerware is covered with shiny gold and silver grains.

History and regional production

Primitive lacquer was used in Japan as early as 12,600 BC, during the Jōmon period.

Lacquer was used in Japan as early as 7000 BCE, during the Jōmon period. Evidence for the earliest lacquerware was discovered at the Kakinoshima "B" Excavation Site in Hokkaido. These objects were discovered in a pit grave dating from the first half of the Initial Jōmon period (approx. 9,000 years ago) Japanese lacquering technology may have been invented by the Jōmon. They learned to refine urushi (poison oak sap) – the process taking several months. Iron oxide (colcothar) and cinnabar (mercury sulfide) were used for producing red lacquer. Lacquer was used both on pottery, and on different types of wooden items. In some cases, burial clothes for the dead were also lacquered.

During the Asuka and Nara periods, between the 7th and 8th centuries, Chinese lacquer art forms were imported to Japan.

In the Heian period (794–1185), various Maki-e techniques characteristic of Japanese lacquerware were developed. While the method of drawing designs with a brush by dissolving gold powder in lacquer is a common technique in other countries, the method of drawing designs with lacquer and then sprinkling gold, silver, or copper powder of various sizes and shapes on top to polish them was developed in Japan. This made it possible to make the gold and silver of lacquerware brighter than before.

In the Kamakura period (1185–1333), carved lacquer from the Song dynasty of China was imported to Japan. However, many Japanese lacquer craftsmen did not adopt the Chinese method of depositing lacquer and then carving it; instead, they created Kamakurabori, a method of carving wood and then coating lacquer.

Japanese lacquerware was abundantly exported to China where the Ming and Qing rulers generally described Japanese lacquerwares as " foreign lacquer " ( yangqi ). Yang Ming, and famous lacquer man Zhejiang, made annotations for A Record of Decoration with Lacquer, ... People of the Ming dynasty once recorded: “The decoration art with lacquer coated with gold originated (maki-e) from Japan". Yang in the reign of Xuande of the Ming dynasty made a trip to Japan to study Japanese techniques, and a Japanese visited a Chinese imperial workshop in Beijing during the Ming dynasty. It is well documented that the Yongzheng Emperor had a formidable interest in Japanese lacquer, yangqi, and this was reflected in many of the works produced in the Imperial workshops during his reign. In the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1568–1600) also made its way into Colonial Mexico (Manila Galleons) and Europe by Nanban trade. Japanese lacquerware attracted European aristocrats and missionaries from Europe, and western style chests and church furniture were exported in response to their requests.

The Edo period (1603–1868) saw an increase in the focused cultivation of lacquer trees and the development of the techniques used. In the 18th century colored lacquers came into wider use. With the development of economy and culture, the artistic quality of lacquered furniture has improved. Hon'ami Kōetsu and Ogata Kōrin brought the designs of the Rinpa school of painting into lacquerware. From the middle of the Edo period, inro became popular as men's accessories, and wealthy merchants of the chōnin class and samurai class collected inro of high aesthetic value, precisely designed with lacquer. Marie Antoinette and Maria Theresa are known collectors of Japanese lacquerware and their collections are now often exhibited in the Louvre and the Palace of Versailles.

In the Meiji period (1868–1912), Richly-decorated lacquerwares in original designs were popular domestically, and even more so with Western buyers during this period of European and American fascination with Japanese art. Shibata Zeshin's lacquer work was especially popular. In addition, lacquerware called Shibayama, which was created in the Edo period, became popular for its showy style, inlaid with gold, silver, shellfish, ivory, coral, tortoise shell and ceramics, and reached its peak during this period. Lacquerware called Somada, which was created in the Edo period and characterized by regular patterns of finely cut seashells, gold leaf and silver leaf, also became popular during this period. The government took an active interest in the art export market, promoting Japan's lacquers and other decorative arts at a succession of world's fairs. Lacquer from Japanese workshops was recognised as technically superior to what could be produced anywhere else in the world.

Today, the Japanese government has designated excellent lacquer artists as Living National Treasures and is encouraging them to make lacquerware. Lacquerware is produced throughout the Japanese archipelago, with many regional techniques and variations. Besides the very old Kamakura tradition mentioned above (and still alive today), the port town of Wajima provides a good example of regional lacquerware. Wajima-nuri, dating back to the 16th century, is characterized by use of the elm-like Japanese zelkova (keyaki 欅), powdered earth, and delicate features formed from cloth. (See the Japanese article, 輪島塗. A more complete list of regional lacquer traditions is available in the Japanese article.)

File:Tiered Stand with Designs Alluding to The Tale of Genji.jpg|Tiered Stand with Designs Alluding to The Tale of Genji, by Hon'ami Kōetsu, 17th century File:Reading Stand with Mount Yoshino.jpg|Reading Stand with Mount Yoshino, Edo period, 18th century File:Blade and Mounting for a Short Sword (Wakizashi).jpg|Lacquered exterior of wakizashi Fusamune, Edo period, 18th century File:'Fuji Tagonoura', 'maki-e' picture by Shibata Zeshin, 1872.jpg|Maki-e Fuji Tagonoura, by Shibata Zeshin, Meiji period, 1872 File:Khalili Collection Japanese Meiji Art L160.jpg|Maki-e Writing-table, by Shirayama Shosai, Meiji period, 19th century, Khalili Collection of Japanese Art File:松田権六 蒔絵螺鈿有職文飾箱.jpg|by Living National Treasure Gonroku Matsuda, Showa period, 1960

Ryukyuan lacquerware

Main article: Ryukyuan lacquerware

Ryukyuan lacquerware is one of the chief artistic products of the Ryukyu Islands (today Okinawa Prefecture of Japan); it is quite distinct from the lacquerware found among the surrounding cultures. Nevertheless, Chinese and Japanese influences are present.

Korean lacquerware

Main article: Najeonchilgi

The very term 'Najeonchilgi' is a combination of two particular words: 'najeon'– mother-of-pearl and ‘chilgi’ which refers to lacquerware. ‘najeon’ refers to the composite material which forms the inner shiny shell layer. The Three Kingdom period (57 B.C. – 668 A.D.) witnessed the introduction of the first method and the second one was introduced during the Shilla period (668–935 A.D.). The Goryeo dynasty (918–1392), considered the golden period of this craft, was influenced by Buddhism.

Southeast Asia

Burmese lacquerware

Yun-de is lacquerware in Burmese, and the art is called Pan yun (ပန်းယွန်း). The lacquer is the sap tapped from the varnish tree or Thitsee (Gluta usitata, syn. Melanorrhoea usitata) that grows wild in the forests of Myanmar (formerly Burma). It is straw-colored but turns black on exposure to air. When brushed in or coated on, it forms a hard glossy smooth surface resistant to a degree from the effects of exposure to moisture or heat.

History

The earliest fragments of lacquerware basketry found in Bagan dates back to the 13th century. Evidence for older lacquerware in Bagan remains inconclusive.

Bayinnaung's conquest and subjugation in 1555–1562 of Manipur, Bhamo, Zinme (Chiang Mai), Linzin (Lan Xang), and up the Taping and Shweli rivers in the direction of Yunnan brought back large numbers of skilled craftsmen into Burma. It is thought that the finer sort of Burmese lacquerware, called Yun, was introduced during this period by imported artisans belonging to the Yun or Northern Thai people of the Chiang Mai region.

Manufacture and design

Lacquer vessels, boxes and trays have a coiled or woven bamboo-strip base often mixed with horsehair. The thitsee may be mixed with ashes or sawdust to form a putty-like substance called thayo which can be sculpted. The object is coated layer upon layer with thitsee and thayo to make a smooth surface, polished and engraved with intricate designs, commonly using red, green and yellow colors on a red or black background. Shwezawa is a distinctive form in its use of gold leaf to fill in the designs on a black background.

Palace scenes, scenes from the Jataka tales, and the signs of the Burmese Zodiac are popular designs and some vessels may be encrusted with glass mosaic or semi-precious stones in gold relief. The objects are all handmade and the designs and engraving done free-hand. It may take three to four months to finish a small vessel but perhaps over a year for a larger piece. The finished product is a result of teamwork and not crafted by a single person.

Forms

The most distinctive vessel is probably a rice bowl on a stem with a spired lid for monks called hsun ok. Lahpet ok is a shallow dish with a lid and has a number of compartments for serving lahpet (pickled tea) with its various accompaniments. Stackable tiffin carriers fastened with a single handle or hsun gyaink are usually plain red or black. Daunglan are low tables for meals and may be simple broad based or have three curved feet in animal or floral designs with a lid. Water carafes or yeidagaung with a cup doubling as a lid, and vases are also among lacquerware still in use in many monasteries.

Various round boxes with lids, small and large, are known as yun-it including ones for paan called kun-it (; betel boxes). Yun titta are rectangular boxes for storing various articles including peisa or palm leaf manuscripts when they are called sadaik titta. Pedestal dishes or small trays with a stem with or without a lid are known as kalat for serving delicacies or offering flowers to royalty or the Buddha. Theatrical troupes and musicians have their lacquerware in costumes, masks, head-dresses, and musical instruments, some of them stored and carried in lacquer trunks. Boxes in the shape of a pumpkin or a bird such as the owl, which is believed to bring luck, or the hintha (Brahminy duck) are common too. Screens and small polygonal tables are also made for the tourist trade today.

Industry

Bagan is the major centre for the lacquerware industry where the handicraft has been established for nearly two centuries, and still practiced in the traditional manner. Here a government school of lacquerware was founded in the 1920s. Since plastics, porcelain and metal have superseded lacquer in most everyday utensils, it is today manufactured in large workshops mainly for tourists who come to see the ancient temples of Bagan. At the village of Kyaukka near Monywa in the Chindwin valley, however, sturdy lacquer utensils are still produced for everyday use mainly in plain black.

A decline in the number of visitors combined with the cost of resin, which has seen a 40-fold rise in 15 years, has led to the closure of over two-thirds of more than 200 lacquerware workshops in Bagan.

Vietnamese lacquer painting and lacquerware

Sơn mài is a painting technique in Vietnam. It developed from the painters of the Hanoi EBAI in the 1930s and today is counted a national painting style with many famous painters.

In 1924 the Ecole des Beaux Arts was established in Hanoi. This institution was to be the birthplace of the revitalised art of lacquer painting. In 1934 the school opened its lacquer department and it was from here that well known contributors to the art including; Bui Trang Chuoc, Nguyen Van Binh, Nguyen Khang, Nguyen Duc Nung, Nguyen Tien Chung, and Pham Van Don would emerge.

It was the first generation of Vietnamese students of the Indochina School of Fine Art during the 1930s, who elevated the craft of lacquer painting to a truly fine art. Less interested in decor than their craftsmen predecessors, it was also these men who would begin a series of artistic innovations from which craftsmen producing purely utilitarian or decorative pieces would also benefit.

Creating images with crushed eggshell, painting pigment over gold and tin foil and adding sand to lacquer were all techniques developed by those first students. The metallic color lacquerware for which Vietnamese craftsmen are rightly famous, was first developed by artists experimenting with many innovative techniques.

After the reunification, the art of lacquerware was slowly dying out in Vietnam. But since the 1980s, the government has recognized it as a vital cultural and economic force and has encouraged the business community to invest in the craft. As a result, we see a resurgence of lacquerware and a proliferation of lacquerware products from Vietnam.

South Asia

Main article: Shellac, Lac (resin)

In India, the insect lac or shellac was used since ancient times. Shellac is the secretion of the lac bug (Tachardia lacca Kerr. or Laccifer lacca). It is used for wood finish, lacquerware, skin cosmetic, ornaments, dye for textiles, production of different grades of shellac for surface coating. The Atharvaveda text 1200 BCE – 1000 BCE devotes a chapter to 'lākshā' and its various uses.

Americas

Barniz de Pasto technique

Barniz de Pasto (es) is a lacquer-like varnish technique originating in the Pre-Columbian era that is a specialty of Pasto, Colombia. It is made by chewing the resin of the Andean mopa-mopa shrub (Elaeagia pastoensis) into thin layers, and then painting it and applying it to a wood, metal, clay or glass surface using heated stones. Historically, the technique was applied to wooden keros, drinking vessels.

Mexican lacquerware

Main article: Mexican lacquerware

Known in Mexican Spanish as laca or maque (from Japanese maki-e), Mexican lacquer has independent origins from Asian lacquer. In the pre-Hispanic period, a substance from the larvae of aje scale insects and/or oil from the chia seed were mixed with powdered minerals to create protective coatings and decorative designs. During this period, the process was almost always applied to dried gourds, especially to make the cups that Mesoamerican nobility drank chocolate from.

After the Conquest, the Spanish had indigenous craftsmen apply the technique to European style furniture and other items, changing the decorative motifs and color schemes, but the process and materials remained mostly the same. Asian lacquerware and artisans brought by the Nao de China also had an influence on the style and motifs of colonial Mexican lacquerware. Today, workshops creating lacquerware are limited to Olinalá, Temalacatzingo and Acapetlahuaya in the state of Guerrero, Uruapan and Pátzcuaro in Michoacán and Chiapa de Corzo in Chiapas. The most popular modern lacquerware are small boxes, sometimes known as cajitas de Olinalá.

References

References

1. Gary W. Crawford. (October 2011). "Advances in Understanding Early Agriculture in Japan". The University of Chicago Press.
2. (October 2011). "浅述战国楚地漆器工业造型艺术". 工业设计.
3. (May 2019). "基于楚式髹漆工艺的现代文化创意产品设计研究". 美与时代.
4. 桂俊荣. (2011). "楚漆器文化艺术特质研究". 中国社会科学出版社.
5. (1991). "East Asian lacquer: the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection". Metropolitan Museum of Art.
6. (1991). "East Asian lacquer: the Florence and Herbert Irving Collection". Metropolitan Museum of Art.
7. (October 2004). "Lacquerware of East Asia". The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
8. (1983). "Ancient China's technology and science". Foreign Languages Press.
9. Akio Haino. "Chinese Carved Lacquerware". [[Kyoto National Museum]].
10. [https://megalodon.jp/2020-0707-0601-06/https://www.nikkei.com:443/article/DGXNASDG06018_W1A101C1CC1000/ 1万2千年前のウルシ木片 世界最古、福井で出土], [[The Nikkei]], November 6, 2011
11. Hokkaido's Minamikayabe Town, Kakinoshima site B (北海道の南茅部町の垣ノ島B遺跡)
12. "Kakinoshima Jomon Archaeological Site". Hokkaido Prefectural Government, Hokkaido Tourism Organization.
13. [https://web.archive.org/web/20200128174441/http://www.pref.hokkaido.lg.jp/ks/bns/jomon/remains_is_kakinoshima01.htm Kakinoshima Excavation Site] Hokkaido Government
14. [https://heritageofjapan.wordpress.com/just-what-was-so-amazing-about-jomon-japan/ways-of-the-jomon-world-2/jomon-crafts-and-what-they-were-for/ Jomon crafts and what they were for] heritageofjapan.wordpress.com
15. Many lacquered objects have turned up during the Early Jōmon period; this indicates that this was an established part of Jōmon culture. Experts are divided on whether Jōmon lacquer was derived from Chinese techniques, or invented independently. For example, Mark Hudson believes that “Jomon lacquer technology was developed independently in Japan rather than being introduced from China as once believed”.[https://web.archive.org/web/20010305204407/http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/APM/TXT/hudson-m-02-96.html Sannai Maruyama: A New View of Prehistoric Japan], Mark Hudson, Asia-Pacific Magazine, No. 2 May 1996 pp. 47–48.
16. Masayuki Murata. ''明治工芸入門'' p. 24. Me no Me, 2017 {{ISBN. 978-4907211110
17. [https://web.archive.org/web/20170618214433/http://ch.kanagawa-museum.jp/dm/kamakura/rekisi/k_rekisi02.html Carved lacquer and Lacquered sculpture] [[Kanagawa Prefectural Museum of Cultural History]]
18. "AN IMPERIAL GOLD-LACQUERED INCENSE STAND".
19. Kleutghen, Kristina. (2017). "Imports and Imitations: The Taste for Japanese Lacquer in Eighteenth-Century China and France". Journal for Early Modern Cultural Studies.
20. Bayerova, Tatjana.. (2015). "Investigation and Conservation of East Asian Cabinets in Imperial Residences (1700–1900): Lacquerware & Porcelain. Conference 2013 Postprints.". Böhlau Verlag.
21. Victoria and Albert Museum.. (1998). "The Victoria and Albert Museum: a bibliography and exhibition chronology, 1852–1996". Routledge.
22. (2020). "THIRTY GREAT INVENTIONS OF CHINA from millet agriculture to artemisinin.". SPRINGER VERLAG, SINGAPOR.
23. Moreno, Pilar Cabañas. (January 2013). "Traces of Japanese art in New Spain: screens, "enconchados" and maques". Kawamura, Yayoi (Ed.), Namban Lacquer Remained in Spain. 400 Years After the. Keichô Embassy, Madrid, Ministerio de Cultura y Deporte y Japan Foundation, Pp. 85-106, Cd Versión.
24. "Namban & Enconchado: Japan and Mexico Meet".
25. [https://web.archive.org/web/20191225065626/http://en.urushi-joboji.com/urushi Urushi once attracted the world] urushi-joboji.com
26. Masayuki Murata. ''明治工芸入門'' p. 104. Me no Me, 2017 {{ISBN. 978-4907211110
27. Yūji Yamashita. ''明治の細密工芸'' p. 80. Heibonsha, 2014 {{ISBN. 978-4582922172
28. Yūji Yamashita. ''明治の細密工芸'' pp. 60–61. Heibonsha, 2014 {{ISBN. 978-4582922172
29. Liddell, C. B.. (2013-12-14). "[Review:] Japonisme and the Rise of the Modern Art Movement: The Arts of the Meiji Period".
30. "Melanorrhoea usitatissima". die.net online dictionary.
31. Berengueres. (2007). "Ancient History and Tradition of Bagan Lacquerware".
32. D.G.E. Hall. (December 2017). "Burma". Hutchinson University Library.
33. Blurton, Richard. (2002). "A Path to Burmese Culture: The Art of Lacquer". The British Museum/Fathom.
34. (2006). "Burmese Lacquerware Collection". Art Only.
35. Kyi Wai. "Burmese Lacquerware Loses Its Shine". [[The Irrawaddy]], January 19, 2009.
36. (1995). "Non-Wood Forest Products 4: Natural colourants and dyestuffs". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
37. Elements of Entomology (2007), Page 492, Dr. Rajendra Singh. Rastogi Publications.
38. "Crafts of Pasto". [[Ministry of Culture (Colombia).
39. (18 May 2012). "Exhibit Explores Prized Functional Items in Spanish America".
40. (2014). "A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the Spanish Language with Families of Words based on Indo-European Roots". Xlibris Corporation.