Page 95 - China, 5000 years : innovation and transformation in the arts

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in xiangrui, a constellation of beliefs that was well
developed by the Western Han. In simple terms, the

Han Chinese believed that, by surrounding oneself
with auspicious omens and designs, one could
attract good fortune and, perhaps more important,
ward off bad fortune. Thus cloud patterns are
common on eating utensils, burial goods, textiles,
and any number of other objects of the time.

Most of the lacquers at Mawangdui were decorated Fig. 2. Lacquered wood tray, vessels, and utensils from
in the traditional palette of red and black, using Mawangdui tomb No. 1
relatively few coats of lacquer. Some of the more
finely finished works (cats. 66, 69, 70) are decorated
with alternating bands of solid red and patterned
black, with cloud patterns appearing in red on the
black bands. The narrow borders also hold abstract
patterns executed in red on black, but these tend to
be simple and rather broadly conceived, clearly
distinguishable from the cloud patterns that serve as
the main decor in the black bands.

Among the exceptions to the red-and-black color

scheme are one of the coffins (fig. 4) and a small
number of boxes (cat. 68). These share a black
lacquer ground on which raised lines of lacquer
outline multicolored cloud patterns. The palette of
the clouds includes ochers, reds, gray-greens, and

yellows.

Also found in limited numbers at Mawangdui are Fig. 3. Lacquered wood screen from Mawangdui tomb
boxes and other objects with decoration created by No. 1.
incising (zhuihua), a relatively new technique; the
earliest excavated examples known to date come THE LATE TANG TO SONG DYNASTY
from the Warring States period. The decoration was (OTH CENTURY-I279)
created by scratching the surface of the outermost Very few lacquers dating from the Eastern Han
lacquer layer with a sharp burin. Although the
incisions are not deep enough to reveal underlying dynasty (25-220 ce) to the end of the Tang dynasty
(618-907) have survived in China. Only indirect
layers, they create very fine, crisp, linear patterns. evidence from materials found in Japan and from
Zhuihua might be seen as the beginnings of the scattered Chinese border sites indicates that lacquer
carved lacquer tradition, which reached full technology continued to develop and that new
processes were introduced for the production of
maturity over a millennium later. Most of the luxury goods, vessels, and furniture. During this
designs on this group of lacquers consist of xiangrui period various sects of Buddhism became
patterns and depictions of immortal paradises or important institutional patrons for the lacquer arts;
hunting scenes. The covered box (cat. 71) is a their demands for lightweight sculpture, implements
typical example. In many cases the incised for worship, and specialized storage containers
decoration is found on the inside surfaces of the contributed to such innovations as dry-lacquer
piece, while the exterior is decorated in more
(tuolai) sculpture.
traditional techniques.
Ting power extended far into Central Asia, and the
Inscriptions on lacquers of the third and second Tang hereditary elite, from the north of China, had
century bce include makers' names, numbers, and both blood and political ties to the cultures of that
other information from which we may deduce that region, foreign luxury goods, .ill the more desirable
many lacquers of this period were produced near for being exotic, provided still competition for
Chengdu in Sichuan Province. Similar inscribed native luxuries such .is lacquerwares.The artisans
lacquers as well as records in historical documents working in lacquer responded with .1 wide range ol
confirm the contemporaneous production of
lacquers in Shandong, Henan, Guangdong, and
Guangxj provinces." These areas continued to be
important centers of lacquer production for most of

China's history.

SO FINE A LUSTER: CHINESE WARL AC Q U E Ft ES 93