ANTIQUE LAQUERWARE BOXES

Laquerware in its most decorative form was first developed during the Shang Dynasty although primitive prehistoric examples have been found.

Lacquerware is named because of the technique used, which is that the item is covered with lacquer, a clear varnish.

Lacquerware was used to decorate many items other than boxes. These included Chinese furniture and other oriental furniture.

The lacquerware on boxes can sometimes be inlaid with substances such as mother of pearl or it can sometimes be carved as in the image of the red cinnibar lacquerware box of the Yongle period.

History of Lacquerware

Sophisticated techniques for creating lacquerware first appeared during the Shang Dynasty.

The Han Dynasty saw the beginning of elaborate, incised decoration while the Tang Dynasy saw precious metals such as gold and silver being inlaid into lacquerware. Much of this inlay consisted of birds, animals and flowers.

Burmese Lacquerware

Burmese lacquerware uses the sap tapped from the varnish tree Melanorrhoea usitatissima or Thitsee that grows wild in the forests of Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Lacquer vessels, boxes and trays have a coiled or woven bamboostrip base often mixed with horsehair, and the thitsee may be mixed with ashes or sawdust to form a putty-like substance called thayo which can be sculpted. The object is coated layer upon layer with thitsee and thayo to make a smooth surface, polished and engraved with intricate designs, commonly using red, green and yellow colours on a red or black background. Shwezawa is a distinctive form in its use of gold leaf to fill in the designs on a black background.

Palace scenes, scenes from the Jataka tales, and the signs of the Burmese Zodiac are popular designs and some vessels may be encrusted with glass mosaic or semi-precious stones in gold relief. The objects are all handmade and the designs and engraving done free-hand. It may take three to four months to finish a small vessel but perhaps over a year for a larger piece. The finished product is a result of teamwork and not crafted by a single person.

Various round boxes with lids, small and large, are known as Yun-It including ones for paan called Kun-It (betel boxes). Yun titta are rectangular boxes for storing various articles including peisa or palm leaf manuscripts when they are called sadaik titta. Pedestal dishes or small trays with a stem with or without a lid are known as kalat for serving delicacies or offering flowers to royalty or the Buddha. Theatrical troupes and musicians have their lacquerware in costumes, masks, head-dresses, and musical instruments, some of them stored and carried in lacquer trunks. Boxes in the shape of a pumpkin or a bird such as the owl, which is believed to bring luck, or the hintha (Brahmani goose) are common too. Screens and small polygonal tables are also made for the tourist trade today.

Japanese Lacquerware

The sap of the lacquer tree, today bearing the technical description of "urushiol-based lacquer," has traditionally been used in Japan. As the substance is poisonous to the touch until it dries, the creation of lacquerware has long been practiced only by skilled dedicated artisans.

As in other countries where lacquerware has traditionally been produced, the process is fundamentally quite basic. An object is formed from wood, sometimes leather, paper, or basketry. Lacquer is applied to seal and protect the object, and then decoration is added. Generally, three coats (undercoat, middle-coat, and final coat) are used, the final coat sometimes being clear rather than black lacquer, in order to allow decorations to show through.

Alongside the red and black lacquers, it is common to see the use of inlay, often seashells or similar materials, as well as mica or other materials. The application of gold powder is known as maki-e, and is a very common decorative element.

As with most traditional arts, variations emerged over time as individual centers of production developed their own unique techniques and styles.

Aizu wares developed in the late 16th century, and saw a peak in their production in the Meiji period. One Aizu technique is that of etching designs or images into the surface of the lacquer, and then filling in the space with gold or other materials. Other techniques distinctive of Aizu involve the burnishing of various clays and primers in the process.

Tsugaru wares feature a technique supposedly developed by Ikeda Gentarō at the end of the 17th century; multiple layers of different colored lacquers are used to create a colorful mottled effect. Wakasa wares are made using a variety of colors, and the inclusion of eggshells, rice chaff, or other materials in the base coats. Silver or gold foil is used as well, and sealed under a layer of transparent lacquer.

Johana wares are generally known for their use of maki-e and mitsuda-e (gold and lead decoration, respectively), and for the use of white or whitish lacquer.

Negoro lacquerwares were produced at the Negoro-ji temple complex in Izumi province. The red layers of lacquer on Negoro wares are intended to gradually wear away with use, revealing the black lacquer underneath. This effect has since been copied and emulated elsewhere.

Ryukyuan lacquerware, though frequently included among types of Japanese lacquer, actually developed largely independently, with strong influences from China and Southeast Asia, as the Ryukyu Islands did not come under Japanese control until 1609.

Russian Lacquerware

Russian lacquer art developed from the art of icon painting which came to an end with the collapse of Imperial Russia. The icon painters, who previously had been employed by supplying not only churches but people's homes, needed a way to make a living. Thus, the craft of making papier-mâché decorative boxes and panels developed, the items were lacquered and then hand painted by the artists, often with scenes from folk tales.

The village of Fedoskino (Федоскино), located not far from Moscow on the banks of the Ucha River, is the oldest of the four art centers of Russian lacquer miniature painting on papier-mâché, which has been practiced there since 1795. It stands apart both geographically, and in that that oil paints are used rather than egg tempera. While allowing the artist a free hand in impressionistic interpretation, the style of Fedoskino painting is largely realistic in composition and detail.

The other three Russian lacquer art centers are: Palekh (Палех) Kholuy (Kholuy, Kholuj, Holui - Холуй) Mstyora (Мстёра) The lacquer artists of Palekh, Kholui and Mstera continue to use the technique of painting in egg-based tempera overlaid with intricate gold leaf highlighting. All three are situated in the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality, Ivanovo region of central Russia, and are deeply rooted in the 17th-19th century icon painting tradition, which lasted until the Russian Revolution of 1917 and is now being revived by young artists of the 21st century.

The quality of lacquer boxes varies widely. Tourists are frequently instructed that a signature on the bottom of the box indicates that a master painted it. However, the reality of the lacquer box industry is that most are painted in small factories where signing another artist's name is no more difficult than painting in his style. Instead of checking for the signature of an artist that can never be confirmed, instead consider the actual quality and detail of the artwork. Many of the lacquer boxes produced in the Soviet Union have exceptional detail and command astronomical prices, yet have no signature. The myth of the signature is perpetuated by the people that sell the boxes rather than those that paint the boxes.