Page 64 - Chinese Decorative Arts: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 55, no. 1 (Summer, 1997)

LACQUER

Chinese lacquer comes from the sap of the lacquer tree sculptural vigor. Complex narrative compositions with
were constructed with
which is native to central and south-
(Rhus verniciflua), architectural and landscape backdrops
ern China. Liquid lacquer requires relatively high minute pieces of mother-of-pearl inlay, like mosaics. After
and contact with
humidity, warm temperatures, oxygen the Yuan period the continuing development of this medium
in order to set properly, making imperative apply the can be seen in the refinement of and variation on the Song
it
to
of
material in thin coats. Once it is set, lacquer is resistant to and Yuan achievements and in the incorporation inspira-
water and acid and can withstand a certain amount of tion from other art forms, including woodcuts, hardwoods
in
heat, so it is excellent for serving utensils. Because of its inlaid with precious materials, and small carvings stones,
unique properties, since early times lacquer has fre- woods, and other natural substances.
in
quently been used as a protective and decorative coating The palace had a significant presence lacquer pro-
on objects crafted from various materials and as an adhe- duction in the Ming and Qing dynasties. From the fifteenth to
sive. Lacquer can be mixed with a limited number of the middle of the sixteenth century, through a corvee system,
by
pigments, of which red and black are far the most sta- the palace workshop in the Ming court controlled the output
ble and most widely used. Painting with lacquer on wood- of resident artisan families as well as a large portion of that
en or fabric objects was a highly developed art form by craftsmen from outlying regions. Commercial lacquer
beginning in the sixth century B.C. production gained impetus in the late sixteenth century after
Significant innovations in lacquer making took the decline of the palace workshop. Artisans newly released
place during the Song and Yuan dynasties. Lacquer was from corvee duties were free to engage fully in commercial
no longer just coating material; it was also exploited as production, which flourished with the support of the strong
a
a substance to be shaped and worked. By applying mul- economy in the coastal provinces. Commercial lacquer mak-
of
the merchant
tiple layers of the liquid, one on top of the other, to a ers served four groups patrons: class, scholar-
the
court
base and allowing each coat to set before the next was officials, imperial (through special brokers), and the
added, artisans were able to build up thick piles, which Japanese market. The style of their work and the decorative
could then be incised, carved, and burnished. Thin motifs they employed were as varied as their patrons.
mother-of-pearl cutouts were incorporated within the In the eighteenth century, when social and economic
a
layers to create iridescent patterns. Carved lacquer was a conditions recovered from the Manchu conquest, lacquer
unique Chinese contribution and remained a highly workshop was again set up inside the palace and was placed
revered category of lacquer production. During the under the stringent supervision of the emperors and the
Southern Song dynasty carved, qiangjin (incised and imperial household. Like their Ming counterparts, palace lac-
gold-filled), and mother-of-pearl-inlaid lacquers were quers produced during this time were often inscribed with
manufactured in the south. Due to the tedious and haz- reign titles and cyclical dates. Imperial symbols, which
ardous method of preparation and refinement-liquid became popular toward the latter half of the Ming, remained
of
lacquer is a very toxic material-and the time- an important category design throughout the Qing period.
consuming process of layering, working, and burnish- Decorations of eighteenth-century lacquers also increasingly
ing, lacquerware was a luxury item found only in the drew on popular auspicious iconography and evidenced a
court and in the homes of the nobility and the wealthy. delight in complex pictorial scenes. With superb technical

Lacquer making throve under Mongol rule in skills and tireless attention to details, the lacquer makers cre-
China. During the Yuan dynasty lacquer craftsmen ated extravagant works distinguished by an unprecedented
learned to layer the material to an unprecedented dramatic quality. WAS
thick-
ness, and the carved decorations exhibited tremendous