Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Ashmolean − Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

Oriental Lacquer: Chinese and Japanese Lacquer from the Ashmolean Collections

A catalogue of the Ashmolean’s collection of Chinese and Japanese lacquer (published Oxford, 1983).

Oriental Lacquer: Chinese and Japanese Lacquer from the Ashmolean Collections by O. R. Impey and M.

Publications online: 39 objects

Reference URL

Actions

Send e-mail

Contact us about this object

Send e-mail

Send to a friend

Inrō with irises

Glossary (4)

lacquer, maki-e, togidashi, togidashi maki-e

  • lacquer

    Chinese and Japanese lacquer is made from the sap of the lacquer tree, which is indigenous to Eastern China. It is applied to wood as a varnish or for decorative effect. In India and the Middle East, lacquer is made from the deposit of the lac insect.

  • maki-e

    (‘sprinkled design’) generic term for lacquer decoration using powdered metals sprinkled onto wet lacquer to create a design

  • togidashi

    Technique in which the design in metal powders sprinkled over damp lacquer, is permitted to harden, then entirely covered with lacquer and finally after hardening, polished with abrasives to re-expose the design.

  • togidashi maki-e

    (‘sprinkled designs revealed by polishing’) a type of makie in which the sprinkled design is covered with lacquer that is then polished away so that the design reappears flush with the surface

Location

    • currently in research collection

Objects are sometimes moved to a different location. Our object location data is usually updated on a monthly basis. Contact the Jameel Study Centre if you are planning to visit the museum to see a particular object on display, or would like to arrange an appointment to see an object in our reserve collections.

 

Publications online

Notice

Object information may not accurately reflect the actual contents of the original publication, since our online objects contain current information held in our collections database. Click on 'buy this publication' to purchase printed versions of our online publications, where available, or contact the Jameel Study Centre to arrange access to books on our collections that are now out of print.

© 2013 University of Oxford - Ashmolean Museum