Image series 08 / 2024: Urushi
Japanese Lacquer Art
18 February 2024
|
By: Bettina Pfleging
Japanese lacquer is produced in a complex process from the sap of the East Asian lacquer tree. The raw lacquer is initially cloudy, then clear and very light to dark yellow after hardening through polymerisation. Coloured urushi is then applied in numerous layers, traditionally pigmented red or black. The beginnings of this processing technique can be traced back to the Neolithic Age. In the 6th century, the traditional Japanese craft of Japanese lacquer art reached a very high artistic level and for many centuries was reserved as a luxury item for the imperial family and the nobility.
One chapter of the exhibition is dedicated to the materials used in Japanese arts and crafts. Examples of objects made of ceramics, lacquer, bronze and bamboo are presented.
„Inspiring Japan. The Walter Gebhard Collection“
26 November 2023 until 20 May 2024, Museum für Kunst & Gewerbe Hamburg
Lackdose mit Weintrauben-Dekor, 1573 –1603, Lack, maki-e, raden, D 11,3 x H 9 cm, Tôkeiji; HeidICON – Ostasienwissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek
Lacktruhe mit Pfeifendekor, 1573 –1603, Lack, maki-e, B 19,5 x T 29,9 x H 20,8 cm, Kyôto; HeidICON – Ostasienwissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek
Pulverflasche mit Namban-Motiv, 1580-1850, Lack, 45,5 × 29,1 cm, Tokio; HeidICON – Ostasienwissenschaften, Ruprecht-Karl-Universität Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek
Ogata Kōrin. Letter Box, 1700s, lacquer with pewter and mother-of-pearl inlay, 24,2 × 21,6 cm, Cleveland; The Cleveland Museum of Art
Tea bowl with flames, 1775 – 1825, stonewareglazevitrification, H 10,2 x D 9,1 cm, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum Collection, Amsterdam
Boîte, Ausschnitt, from 1789 until 1914, black lacquermetal, wood, silvery, 133 × 96 mm, Paris; RMN Musée d’Orsay, Réunion des musées nationaux
Kubota Shunman. A Lacquer Bowl, Ausschnitt, 1815 – 1820, 197 × 167 mm, color woodcut | polishing, Amsterdam; Rijksmuseum Collection, Amsterdam
Ryūryūkyo Shinsai. Lacquer Box for Clothes, Ausschnitt, 19th century, ink and color on paper, 14,3 × 19,1 cm, New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art
