About Lacquer Craftsmanship
A well-deserved luxury
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There are many reasons why lacquerware is regarded as a well-deserved luxury item.
The raw material, natural lacquer, is painstakingly collected and produced in limited quantities, which, together with the special requirements for the environment, makes the lacquer itself precious. -
Secondly, the production process of lacquer ware is extremely complicated and time-consuming, from design, tire making, lacquer painting to decoration, each process requires craftsmen to carefully carve and accumulate layers and layers, as little as a few months, as much as a few years, the cost of this time is an important manifestation of the attribute of luxury goods.
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Lacquerware art integrates various techniques such as painting and carving, and its decorative patterns are exquisite, rich in deep cultural connotation and artistic value, and these unique artistic expression is also the key factor for it to become a luxury product.
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Lacquerware was mostly enjoyed by royalty in history, and its honored historical status and social symbolism added to its unique charm as a luxury product. Therefore, with its rare raw materials, exquisite craftsmanship, unique artistic expression and honored historical status, lacquerware deservedly becomes the treasure of luxury goods.
Sources of raw lacquer
Species and growing environment: Lacquer tree is a deciduous tree, usually growing in the sunny hillside forests at an altitude of 800-2800 meters (even up to 3800 meters), there are also cultivated species. It prefers a warm and humid climate, and is not strict on soil requirements, but is suitable for growth in deep, fertile, well-drained, slightly acidic soil. In China, the lacquer tree is mainly distributed in the southern region from southern Gansu to the line of Shandong, and other countries in eastern Asia such as Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Myanmar, etc., but China's production and quality are among the highest in the world.
Time of collection
The collection of raw lacquer usually takes place in April and May, when the lacquer tree is in its peak growth period and the bark is rich in resin. When collecting, workers will cut the bark to let the resin flow out naturally and collect it.
Lacquerware's complicated process
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Tire Making
Select and process suitable materials (e.g. pear wood, elm wood, etc.) to be used as the base tires, level and polish them, clean the surfaces, and ensure that the base of the tires is flat and smooth.
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Laminating
Using a mixture of lacquer and flour as an adhesive, the summer cloth is laminated onto the tire to enhance the stability and durability of the tire, and then shade-dried.
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Scraping
By applying the putty (coarse, medium and fine) mixed with raw lacquer and seasoning, scraping and applying it on the carcass layer by layer, each layer needs to be sanded after shade-drying to achieve a smooth and even effect.
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Lacquer
On the gray surface after scraping, brush the diluted lacquer liquid and dry it to improve the density and gloss of the lacquer surface, in preparation for the subsequent lacquer painting.
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Painting
Refining the lacquer and mixing it with camphor oil, etc., according to the material of the substrate and the design requirements, brushing and drying the lacquer layer by layer, in order to enhance the thickness of the lacquer layer and the sense of aesthetics.
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Decorative texture
Adopting various lacquer techniques (such as Baobao inlay, carved lacquer, gold painting, etc.) to decorate the surface of lacquer ware.
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Sanding and polishing
Lacquerware is repeatedly polished with different types of sandpaper, and finally polished with vegetable oil mixed with fine tile ash or pearl powder to enhance the finish and inner luster of the lacquer surface.
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The time it takes to make a lacquerware piece varies from a few months to several years depending on the complexity of the craft and the fineness of the production.
Inlaid Ornamentation
Historical Background
Originated in the Shang Dynasty, the early 1980s, Chinese archaeologists in the Liuli River Western Zhou Yan State Cemetery excavated a number of Western Zhou inlaid inlaid lacquer, one of the lacquer above the painted animal phoenix and bird pattern on the use of inlaid technology, which is so far seen in the world's earliest inlaid lacquer one.
Multicolumn
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Materials
Selection of high quality shell materials and preliminary grinding and processing to make them suitable for subsequent inlay work. According to the design pattern, the shells are cut into thin slices of various shapes and sizes.
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Inlaying and polishing
The cut shell flakes are inlaid onto the surface of the object and finely polished and trimmed to ensure a smooth and even surface.
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Lacquering and Polishing
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Eggshell Inlay Craft
Eggshell Inlay Lacquerware Eggshell Inlay Craft, as the name suggests, refers to inlaying treated eggshell fragments on the surface of lacquerware, taking eggshells of chickens, ducks, quails and other birds, firstly, taking their white color and secondly, taking the texture of the crushed eggshells, and then, through fine arrangement and polishing, making the texture and color of the eggshells integrated with the lacquerware, forming a unique decorative effect. This craft not only enriches the expression of lacquerware, but also gives it higher artistic value and cultural connotation.
Fuzhou reborn lacquerware
The Fuzhou Lacquerware Painting and Decorating Technique is a very special craft, created on the basis of inheriting thousands of years of China's lacquer techniques, which uses cloth or wooden blanks, which are then decorated with colored lacquer haloing, brocade, vermilion lacquer tracing, and table flower inlaid with inlays and other techniques through the processes of plastering, polishing, manipulating, black pushing and color pushing, etc., and then finally finished.
Carved Lacquer Craft
Carved lacquer, also known as red, is the treasure and essence of the traditional crafts of the Chinese nation, with cloisonné, ivory carving, jade carving, known as the capital of the craft “four greats”, plus the palace carpet, Beijing embroidery, gold lacquer inlaid, filigree inlay, is collectively referred to as the “Yanjing eight”. Carved lacquer begins with lacquerware, which is a work of art that uses lacquer as a raw material, coats and piles it layer by layer on the body to the proper thickness, and then processes and carves it.
Hundred Treasures Inlay
Baibao inlay is in the same piece of artifacts selectively inlaid with a variety of processed precious materials, so as to achieve the purpose of highlighting the theme of the composition and strengthen the decorative effect, the process appeared in the Ming Dynasty, on the basis of the inlay process in the shell inlaid with gemstones, ivory, coral, as well as jade and other materials to form the inlay process.
Baibao inlaid into the pattern pattern will be irradiated with changes in the angle of light, emitting a variety of colors, mainly in the Chinese classical furniture and arts and crafts.