Serving Plates with Design in Zonsei "Change"

About the Artwork

I was inspired by the layers of the juni hitoe (twelve-layered ceremonial kimono) and made these plates.
The 8 plates can be used as serving plates, and you can enjoy the beautiful color gradation of the colored lacquer when the plates are stacked.

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Description

• Category
  Lacquerware
• Materials
  Urushi lacquer, Hemp cloth, Gold powder, Pigments
• Dimensions
  H 17.0 x W 24.5 x D 10.0 cm
• Year presented
  2017
• Production period
  1 year and 6 months
• Rarity
  Unique
• Paulownia Box
  Included
• Artist Signature
  Signed (paulownia box)

Techniques Used

Dry lacquer

For works of dry lacquer (kanshitsu), first a clay form is created and plaster is used to take a mold of the form. Next, repeated layers of hemp cloth and lacquer are applied to the mold until they are built up to the desired thickness. Finally, the mold is removed and additional coats of lacquer are applied to finish the piece. The hemp fibers are strengthened when the lacquer bonds with them, making dry lacquer an excellent technique for creating sturdy forms with a significant degree of freedom.

Zonsei

In zonsei lacquerwork, the outlines of colored motifs are engraved to produce additional decorative effects. Typically, one of two techniques is used. In the first, the artisan applies the motifs in colored lacquer before using a carving tool called a zonsei ken to incise the outlines of the design or add decorative line engravings. In the second, the artisan creates motifs using the kinma technique, which are then outlined or engraved in the same fashion. Zonsei, like carved lacquer (chōshitsu) and kinma, is a technique associated primarily with Takamatsu in Kagawa prefecture.

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Awards received

• Selected