"Chinese Lacquerware"
Lacquer is the sap of the lacquer tree, which grows in East and Southeast Asia. Naturally sticky, it can be brushed onto different materials, and hardens into a durable coating that is waterproof and resistant to acids, alkalis, and heat.
The history of lacquerware in China dates back to the Neolithic period. Over the past 7,000 years, a number of ornate decorative techniques have grown out of Chinese innovations, including: built-up layers of lacquer that are then carved, mother-of-pearl inlay, incised lines of gold, and a special type of decorative inlay made up of different colors of lacquer and outlined in incised lines.
Designation | Name | Amount | Creation Excavation | Period | Acquisition Ownership | Comment | |
Highlight | Lobed Tray | China | Southern Song dynasty, 12th–13th century | Lent by the Tokiwayama Bunko Foundation | |||
Highlight | Box with a Dragon and Phoenix | China | Ming dynasty, dated 1592 | TH-383 |