Chinese Lacquer Ware

Lacquer ware is a special product of China. The original Chinese ancient lacquer ware was made using a natural lacquer obtained from sumac. The sumac should be about 10 years old.After being heated and mixed with pigments, colorful lacquer comes into being and can be made as delicate handicrafts. The Chinese lacquer with brilliant color is waterproof, corrosion-proof and high temperature resist. It is one of China’s great inventions of industrial arts. Lacquer ware not only has great ornamental value but also wide practicality.

As the earliest users, the Chinese have enjoyed its beauty since the Neolithic Age. During the past hundreds of years, it has played an important role in the development of Chinese arts and crafts as well as having a large influence on the world’s art. A wood-based red bowl made 6,000 - 7,000 years ago unveiled the history of lacquer techniques.(A lacquer ware tour to China)

History 

The lacquer ware was in use as early as in Xia Dynasty 4,200 years ago. During the Han Dynasty (206 B.C. - 220 A .D.), people took lacquer ware as their daily utility. In ancient China, the lacquer trees were planted in a large area. The great philosopher Zhuangzi in Warring States (476B.C.-221B.C.) was once the specific official taking charge of the lacquer tree garden.

The early lacquer was very simple. They were made of the wooden or bamboo molds painting with lacquer. As civilization advanced, the technique such as colored pattern, liquid gold gilded decoration and so on has appeared, and different dynasties' lacquer wares have their own styles and features.

In the heyday of lacquer ware in Han Dynasty, lacquer box, plant, earring, mask, chessboard, etc. came into being, with main colors of red and black.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the production of lacquer ware reached a new peak. In the period, lacquer technique began to combine with architecture and furniture production, gradually turning focus to ornamental field. In Ming Dynasty, lacquer carving was very popular.

Why Chinese Like Lacquer Wares

Lacquer ware is unique, high-class, elegant appearance is a love-at-first-sight for most Chinese art lovers. The special red color captures your heart instantly, and the glossy, fascinating details repeatedly re-emerge in your dreams later on.

The quality of lacquer ware is superb, and it is not unusual to see a lacquer item made hundreds of years ago still retain its original form and beauty. Take a tour to the major museums in Beijing, and you will discover many exquisite lacquer ware products used by ancient Chinese emperors that retain their great color.

Generally, the quality of lacquer ware is "four resists". It resists moisture, heat, acid, and corrosion. The special material used to make it, which is the sap from a kind of varnish tree, and the traditional techniques applied in the making, which have been perfected through generations, are what give this especially firm ware such an amazing quality.

For uniquely-looking painting, the exquisite color, and the mixed sense of magnificence, high-class, a lacquer ware is definitely one of the best decorations you can put in your home. A tourto China can give a chance to take a close encounter with Chinese lacquer ware!

This article is from www.chinatourcenter.com.