Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, miscellaneous lacquered small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver for example Hirameji and given further decorative treatments. East Asian countries have long traditions of lacquer work, going back several thousand years in the cases of China, Japan and Korea. The best known lacquer, an urushiol-based lacquer common in East Asia, is obtained from the dried sap of Toxicodendron vernicifluum. Other types of lacquers are processed from a variety of plants and insects. The traditions of lacquer work in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Americas are also ancient and originated independently. True lacquer is not made outside Asia, but some imitations, such as Japanning in Europe, or parallel techniques, are often loosely referred to as "lacquer."
East Asia
The oldest lacquer tree found is from the Jōmon period in Japan, 12600 years ago. The oldest lacquerware in the world, burial ornaments which were created in 9th millennium B.C., were unearthed in early Jomon period tombs, at the Kakinoshima site in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. 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 (c. 5th millennium BC) site in Zhejiang, China.
Chinese lacquerware
During the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600–1046 BC) of China, sophisticated lacquer process techniques developed became a highly artistic craft. 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, with the kingdom of Chu producing the largest number of lacquerware. The state of Chu having the geographical advantage and warmer climates enabled dedicated mass cultivation of lacquer trees and for lacquerware to become a commercial industry. Because of this, Chu-state became famous for its lacquerware exports in the neighbouring states in the Zhou kingdom, with literary references found in books like Zhuangzi and Shangshu, and providing some cultural cross-pollination between the southern culture of Chu and the culture of Zhongyuan. 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. Elaborate incised decorations were used in lacquerware during the Han dynasty. 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. The cut-outs were affixed onto the surface of the lacquerware, after which new layers of lacquer were applied, dried, and then ground away, so the surface could be polished to reveal the golden or silvery patterns beneath. This was done by a technique known as pingtuo. Such techniques were time-consuming and costly, but these lacquerware were considered highly refined. It was also the period when the earliest practice of carving lacquerware began. 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. A variation of diaotian or tianqi is known as moxian (polish-reveal) in which a design is built up with lacquer in certain areas, the remaining areas are filled with lacquer of a different color, and the entire surface is polished down. Especially the art of inlaying lacquer with mother-of-pearl was intensively developed during the Song dynasty. 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, eventually it was introduced to Korea, Japan. 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, and carved lacquerware came to Japan from Ming dynasty China during the 14th 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
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.
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