Box of flower patterns
Year.1993- Lacquerware
- Price Range Please Inquire
- Awards at Japan Kōgei Assoc. Exhibitions : 1
Lacquer sap is collected by making many deep cuts into lacquer tree trunks and precisely for that reason, I wish to show my respect and appreciation for this gift of nature by making the maximum use of the characteristics of lacquer, such as its strength after hardening or its deep luster. I make plain bases by pasting layers of hemp cloth onto a fine detailed plaster mold; I also make dynamic forms by the hand-twisting of ropes and non-woven fabric into which lacquer first infiltrates, and then I leave the natural hardening property of lacquer to give further free shape to my workpieces. When applying decoration, guided by the red square boxes made for the household effects of feudal lords, I repeatedly explore ways to ensure that the red texture appears as a pattern similar to maki-e (sprinkled picture decoration) or raden (mother-of-pearl inlay).
View DetailDescription
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CategoryLacquerware
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Year of creation1993
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InstructionsWipe with a soft cloth to clean.
Techniques
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.
Maki-e
Maki-e (literally “sprinkled pictures”) is a representative lacquerware technique that originated in Japan around 1,200 years ago. Maki-e is done by painting lacquer motifs on the surface of a piece using a fine brush and then sprinkling gold powder onto the lacquer before it hardens, producing luxurious decorations.
Mother-of-pearl inlay (Raden)
Mother-of-pearl inlay (Raden) is a decorative technique that uses the iridescent inner layer of abalone shell, turban shell, pearl oyster shell, or other mollusk shells. The technique came to Japan from China 1,300 years ago, and pieces featuring mother-of-pearl inlay are included among the artifacts at the Shōsōin Repository in Nara.
