lacquer

Examples of lacquer in the following topics:

• Crafts in the Edo Period

  • Lacquer was used both for solely decorative objects as well as everyday items, such as combs, tables, bottles, headrests, small boxes, and writing cases.
  • The most famous lacquerer-painter of the time was Ogata Korin, who was the first artist to use mother of pearl and pewter in larger quantities in lacquerware.
  • This writing box made of black lacquered wood with gold, maki-e, abalone shells, silver, and corroded lead strip decorations dates from the 18th century and reflects the skill of the Edo painter and lacquerer Ogata Korin.

• The Todaiji

  • Clustered around the Daibutsuden on a gently sloping hillside are a number of secondary halls: the Hokke-dō (Lotus Sutra Hall), with its principal image; the Fukukenjaku Kannon (the most popular bodhisattva), crafted of dry lacquer (cloth dipped in lacquer and shaped over a wooden armature); the Kaidanin (Ordination Hall) with its magnificent clay statues of the Four Guardian Kings; and the storehouse, called the Shōsōin.

• Art of the Middle Kingdom

  • Much of what is known of early Chinese figure painting comes from burial sites, where paintings were preserved on silk banners, lacquered objects, and tomb walls.
  • Bronze, gold, silver, rhinoceros horn, Chinese silk, ivory, lacquer, cloisonne enamel, and many other materials had specialist artists working in them.

• Jade in Neolithic China

  • The culture was highly stratified, as jade, silk, ivory, and lacquer artifacts were found exclusively in elite burials, while simple pottery was more commonly found in the burial plots of poorer individuals.

• Sculpture of the Qin Dynasty

  • Along with the colored lacquer finish, the individual facial features would have given the figures a realistic feel.

• Thai Buddhist Sculpture

  • Sculptures were often gilded, or decorated with gold leaf in free-form designs on lacquer backgrounds.

• Thai Painting

  • Painted images often consisted of decorations of gold leaf in free-form designs on a lacquer background.

• The Decorative Arts under the Ming Dynasty

  • A Ming Dynasty red lacquer box with intricate carving of people in the countryside, surrounded by a floral border design

• Cambodian Art

  • Lacquer on Angkorian stone dates to the 15th or 16th century.