Lacquerware are objects decoratively covered with lacquer. Before lacquering, the surface is sometimes painted with pictures, inlaid with shell and other materials, or carved. Lacquerware includes small or large containers, tableware, a variety of small objects carried by people, and larger objects such as furniture and even coffins painted with lacquer. The lacquer can be dusted with gold or silver and given further decorative treatments. East Asian countries have long traditions of lacquer work, going back several thousand years in the cases of China, Japan and Korea. Other types of lacquers are processed from a variety of plants and insects. The best known lacquer, an urushiol-based lacquer common in East Asia, is obtained from the dried sap of Toxicodendron vernicifluum. Maki-e sake bottle with Tokugawa clan’s mon (emblem), Japan, Edo period. The traditions of lacquer work in Southeast Asia, South Asia and the Americas are also ancient and originated independently. The oldest lacquerware in the world, burial ornaments which were created in 9th millennium century B.C., were unearthed at the Kakinoshima site in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan. Various prehistoric lacquerwares have been unearthed in China dating back to the Neolithic period and objects. The early known lacquerware was thought to be a red wooden bowl, which was unearthed at a Hemudu culture (c. The oldest lacquer tree found is from the Jōmon period in Japan, 12600 years ago. This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. During the Shang dynasty (ca. 1600-1046 BC) of China, sophisticated lacquer process techniques developed became a highly artistic craft. During the Eastern Zhou period (771-256 BC), lacquerware began appearing in large quantity. Drum with and Bird and Tiger Frame, Chu-state, Spring and Autumn period. The state of Chu having the geographical advantage and warmer climates enabled dedicated mass cultivation of lacquer trees and for lacquerware to become a commercial industry. Qin and Chu producing the largest number of lacquerware. Because of this, Chu-state became famous for its lacquerware exports in the neighbouring states in the Zhou kingdom, with literary references found in books like Zhuangzi and Shangshu, and providing some cultural cross-pollination between the southern culture of Chu and the culture of Zhongyuan. At the time of the Han dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD), special administrations were established to organize and divide labor for the expanding lacquer production in China. In the Tang dynasty (618-907), Chinese lacquerware saw a new style marked by the use of sheets of gold or silver made in various shapes, such as birds, animals, and flowers. Elaborate incised decorations were used in lacquerware during the Han dynasty. The cut-outs were affixed onto the surface of the lacquerware, after which new layers of lacquer were applied, dried, and then ground away, so the surface could be polished to reveal the golden or silvery patterns beneath. Such techniques were time-consuming and costly, but these lacquerware were considered highly refined. This was done by a technique known as pingtuo. It was also the period when the earliest practice of carving lacquerware began. Several existing decorative techniques gradually developed further after the 10th century, such as diaoqi (carved lacquer) which involves building up layers comprising thinly-applied coats of lacquer and carving it into a three-dimensional design; qiangjin (engraved gold) in which fine lines are incised, an adhesive of lacquer is applied, and gold foil or powder is pressed into the grooves; and diaotian or tianqi (filled-in) in which the lacquer is inlaid with lacquer of another color. A variation of diaotian or tianqi is known as moxian (polish-reveal) in which a design is built up with lacquer in certain areas, the remaining areas are filled with lacquer of a different color, and the entire surface is polished down. However, during the Song, the artistic craft also made use of inlaid gold in a process of which is to engrave intricate patterns in the lacquer surface and to fill the intaglio with gold powder. Japan from Ming dynasty China during the 14th century. Especially the art of inlaying lacquer with mother-of-pearl was intensively developed during the Song dynasty. One of the earliest Japanese techniques for decorating the lacquer surface was, besides painting simple designs, the gold and silver foil inlay of the Nara period (710-784). This technique was transmitted from China during the Tang dynasty. Red lacquer wood bowl from the Chinese Hemudu culture dated to 4000-5000 BC, the oldest such piece ever found. Coromandel lacquer is a Chinese export type, so called because it was shipped to European markets via the Coromandel coast of India. Lacquer box in shape of pigs, Chu kingdom, Warring States. Lacquer box of phoenix pattern, Warring States. Lacquered yuren (羽人) figure on a toad stand, Chu kingdom, Warring States period. Lacquered winged goblet (zh:羽觞), also known as “eared” or flanged cup (耳杯) from Warring States. Lacquered flanged cup with cloud designs from Warring States. Painted lacquer flat flask with coiled serpents, Warring States. Lacquered winged cup from Warring States with geometric design. Lacquer phoenix cup, state of Chu, Warring States. Lacquerware box from Mawangdui, Han dynasty. Lacquerware pot from Mawangdui Tomb. Lacquered chest from Mawangdui. Lacquerware flanged drinking vessels and plates from the Mawangdui Tomb. Chinese painted artwork on the lacquered basket of Lolang, a region of the Han dynasty. Painted lacquerware tray from the tomb of Zhu Ran, Three Kingdoms period. Painted lacquerware dish from the tomb of Zhu Ran (182-249 AD) in Anhui province, showing figures wearing Hanfu, Eastern Wu, Three Kingdoms period. Black lacquered clogs from the tomb of Zhu Ran. Painted lacquerware dish from the tomb of Zhu Ran, Three Kingdoms period. Black lacquer box with pearl inlays, late Yuan to early Ming dynasty. Tray with dragons, Ming dynasty. Qing dynasty carved lacquer snuff bottle. Black lacquered medicine cabinet with dragon patterns from Wanli era, Ming dynasty. Lacquerware set by the Yi people. ‘najeon’ refers to the composite material which forms the inner shiny shell layer. The very term ‘Najeonchilgi’ is a combination of two particular words: ‘najeon’- mother-of-pearl and ‘chilgi’ which refers to lacquerware. The Three Kingdom period (57 B.C. Shilla period (668 A.D. The term for lacquer is urushi (漆), source of the English hybrid word “urushiol”. The Goryeo dynasty (918-1392), considered the golden period of this craft, was influenced by Buddhism. The term “Japanning” in the 17th century is a term for the technique used by Europe to emulate Asian lacquer, derived from the then famous Japanese lacquer. The general characteristic of Japanese lacquerware is the widespread use of various Maki-e techniques compared to other countries. Etymologically, urushi may be related to the words uruwashii (“beautiful”) or uruoi (“watered”, “profitable”, “favored”), due speculatively to their value or shiny appearance, or perhaps the humidifying rooms used in production of lacquered wares. As a result, there are many works in which relatively vivid gold and silver patterns and pictures shine on the black base of lacquerware, and the entire lacquerware is covered with shiny gold and silver grains. Primitive lacquer was used in Japan as early as 12,600 BC, during the Jōmon period. Lacquer was used in Japan as early as 7000 BCE, during the Jōmon period. These objects were discovered in a pit grave dating from the first half of the Initial Jōmon period (approx. Evidence for the earliest lacquerware was discovered at the Kakinoshima “B” Excavation Site in Hokkaido. Japanese lacquering technology may have been invented by the Jōmon. They learned to refine urushi (poison oak sap) – the process taking several months. Iron oxide (colcothar) and cinnabar (mercury sulfide) were used for producing red lacquer. Lacquer was used both on pottery, and on different types of wooden items. In some cases, burial clothes for the dead were also lacquered. Experts are divided on whether Jōmon lacquer was derived from Chinese techniques, or invented independently. Many lacquered objects have turned up during the Early Jōmon period; this indicates that this was an established part of Jōmon culture. For example, Mark Hudson believes that “Jomon lacquer technology was developed independently in Japan rather than being introduced from China as once believed”. During the Asuka and Nara periods, between the 7th and 8th centuries, Chinese lacquer art forms were imported to Japan. While the method of drawing designs with a brush by dissolving gold powder in lacquer is a common technique in other countries, the method of drawing designs with lacquer and then sprinkling gold, silver, or copper powder of various sizes and shapes on top to polish them was developed in Japan. This made it possible to make the gold and silver of lacquerware brighter than before. In the Heian period (794-1185), various Maki-e techniques characteristic of Japanese lacquerware were developed. In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), carved lacquer from the Song dynasty of China was imported to Japan. However, many Japanese lacquer craftsmen did not adopt the Chinese method of depositing lacquer and then carving it; instead, they created Kamakurabori, a method of carving wood and then coating lacquer. Japanese lacquerware was abundantly exported to China where the Ming and Qing rulers generally described Japanese lacquerwares as ” foreign lacquer ” ( yangqi ).