Kanshitsu box with design in zonsei. “Evening calm in Seto”
- Lacquerware
- Presented in 2016
- H 14.7 x W 34.8 x D 17.8 cm
- Contact for Price
| Category | Lacquerware |
|---|---|
| Year Presented | 2016 |
| Dimensions | H 14.7 x W 34.8 x D 17.8 cm |
| Exhibition | The 63th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition |
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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.
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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.
Takashi Tsuji
I was born and raised in a family of makie lacquerers; that is three generations from my great-grandfather. This is quite rare in Kagawa Prefecture, and naturally, I took up the path of urushi art in high school and junior college. My father was the most pleased with my progress, and after he died from an illness, I continued my studies under urushi artist OTA Hitoshi, and learned the technique of rantai kinma (incised and color-filled decoration on a woven bamboo core). While learning, I came to realize my life’s vocation is to create my own style, a fusion of my father’s colored maki-e and the master OTA’s rantai techniques.