the
production of lacquer products pre-dates written history. the
use of lacquer in asia grew out of a desire to enhance the durability
and beauty of wooden utensils. in china, excavations unearthed
red lacquer bowls that date back to the neolithic period. in
japan, it is believed that that lacquer-coated eating vessels
pre-date ceramic tableware. by the time of the shang dynasty
in china (16th - 11th centuries bc), sophisticated painting designs
show that the production of lacquerware was already a highly developed
art.
lacquerware
was first discovered by the europeans in the 15th century ad at
the height of the ming dynasty. however, it was not until the
early 18th century that europeans first realised that lacquer
was the sap of a tree.
european
demand very quickly outstripped supply. european artisans worked
hard to imitate the lustrous surface of asian lacquerware using
their own familiar natural resins, including shellac, a resin
exuded from the insect ‘laccifer lacca’. this name is the origin
of the word ‘lacquer’. “lakh’ is sanskrit for “one hundred thousand”,
referring to the hordes of insects that produce this resin. european
lacquer also became known as “japanning”. whilst the final appearance
of asian and european lacquered surfaces was very similar, differences
in quality became apparent with the passage of time. the word
‘lacquer’ is still mistakenly and confusingly used to describe
any type of glossy coating, even including plastics.
in
the early 20th century, there was a resurgence of popularity of
asian lacquer as a group of designers working in france began
to use asian lacquer for furniture and other decorative arts.
eileen gray and jean dunand are two renowned artists who produced
a wealth of screens, furniture and paintings using asian lacquer
and eggshell technique.
today,
lacquer production continues to flourish throughout asia, each
country having developed its own idiosyncratic styles and methods
of production, all of which are derived from the same handcrafted
traditional processes and materials developed over the last 6,000
years.
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