Traditional Chinese Lacquer Wares

Chinese started making lacquer wares about 7,000 years ago. In 1970’s an archeological discovery of a red lacquer wood bowl coated by natural lacquers in Zhejiang shows that China is the earliest country in the world using natural lacquer.

Traditional Chinese lacquer wares are made of natural lacquer liquids from lacquer trees. Lacquer trees are widely planted in China. Ancient Chinese people used lacquer liquids to coat the daily utensils made of linen and woods.

During the Warring Period (770-256BC) lacquer ware making came to its first peak. Uncovered cultural objects from this period indicate had surpassed the previous eras in terms of varieties, craftsman ship and production outputs and scopes of distribution. The dominant colors for the lacquer wares at that time are red and black, which have been the most distinctive characteristic of traditional Chinese lacquer wares. Thanks to the rapid economical development, Chinese lacquer wares making embraced its highest peak during the Han Dynasty (206BC-220AD). More complicated technique such as inlaid gold and silver was involved in lacquer ware making. Lacquer wares were the symbols of fortune and status then. In Jin Dynasty (265-420AD) Buddhism was prevailed. Lacquer wares beard more Buddha sculptures. With the time passing by, the lacquer ware making did the great achievement in the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD). Precious metals like Gold and Silver were started to be embedded in the lacquer wares. The unearthed lacquer wares from this period indicate the most exquisite workmanship in the lacquer ware making history. In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD) a famous craftsman studied the making procedures in history and wrote the first dissertation on lacquer making and arts. Ever since the Ming Dynasty, traditional Chinese lacquer wares were gradually not popular any longer due to the widely uses of ceramics. However, since the late 1970’s the traditional Chinese lacquer wares start to rejuvenate because they started to draw the extensive interests of the foreign travelers visiting China.