Kanshitsu round covered box with design in kinma. “Deep silence”

About the Artwork

If you stand in the forest, in the silence that seems like time has stopped, you can smell the soil, hear the sound of water and rustling leaves, and feel the presence of living creatures and the soft breeze on your face. I wanted to put in such feelings of being fulfilled with vital power in this piece.

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Description

• Category
  Lacquerware
• Dimensions
  H 12.5 / ø 34.5 cm
• Year presented
  2017
• Rarity
  Unique

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.

Kinma

There are three basic variations of kinma based on the method used for cutting the motifs: line cutting, dot cutting, and a combination of the two. All three types use a special carving blade known as a kinma ken. Originally, kinma only consisted of motifs made of incised lines. However, by combining a variety of colored lacquers and cutting techniques, the art has lent itself to increasingly complex designs.

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Selected exhibitions

• The 64th Japan Traditional Kōgei Exhibition (2017)
• Selected