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Chinese Lacquerware

  • Image of "Foiled Tray, Dragon and waves in mother-of-pearl inlay, Yuan dynasty, 14th century, China (Important Cultural Property)"

    Foiled Tray, Dragon and waves in mother-of-pearl inlay, Yuan dynasty, 14th century, China (Important Cultural Property)

    Japanese Gallery (Honkan) Room 14
    August 25, 2009 (Tue) - October 18, 2009 (Sun)

    Lacquerware is crafted using the sap of lacquer trees which inhabit the entire Asia region. From ancient times, lacquer-coated wares have been made and utilized not only in Japan but also in China, Korea, Southeast Asia and other Asian regions. Just as Japan developed techniques such as maki-e, in which smooth black lacquer is decorated with powdered gold, each of the regions and cultures developed their own unique techniques and expressions using the same material. Lacquerware is a genre of decorative art that represents the diverse cultures of Asia.

    This thematic exhibition introduces lacquerware from China. In Chinese lacquerware, colors such as red, black, yellow and green were used, and decorative techniques included carving designs from heavily coated lacquer, combining fragments of shells to create inlaid designs, applying gold leaf into designs cut in thin lines, and creating inlaid designs with various colored lacquers. These techniques were employed in expressing the bold motifs such as five-clawed dragons, the Chinese symbol of the emperor; roundel arabesques; and pictorial expressions of birds, flowers, figures and palaces. Plain wares are also notable for their appealing forms. This exhibition highlights distinctive aspects of Chinese lacquerware, which is quite different from Japanese works in the same genre.

 Major works in this exhibition

* Works listed below are in the TNM Collection unless otherwise indicated.
Foiled Tray, Dragon and waves in mother-of-pearl inlay, Yuan dynasty, 14th century, China (Important Cultural Property)
Lobed Tray, Black lacquer, Southern Song dynasty, 13th century, China
Tray, Spiral motif in lacquer carving, Southern Song dynasty, 12th - 13th century, China
Tray, Lotus in red lacquer carving, Yuan dynasty, 14th century, China
Box, Peony arabesque in gilded hair-line engraving, Ming dynasty, 15th - 16th century, China
Tray, Flowers and birds in lacquer painting, Ming dynasty, dated 1601, China
Exhibitions