Cinnabar Lacquer

During the Neolithic period, the Chinese used a resin extracted from the lacquer tree to waterproof wood, particularly for burial sites, and to create some ritual objects.

Later, the use of this resin became widespread, and it was found in the production of everyday objects such as tableware, and in the decoration of furniture, cabinets, or screens.

Gradually, the art of lacquer spread to Southeast Asian countries and Japan.

Chinese artisans enjoyed working with lacquer in different ways and discovered new techniques to create increasingly refined and intricate works. By layering coats of lacquer, they were able to carve it using the 'guri' technique, incorporate pigments, gold or silver powder, or inlay small elements, notably in mother-of-pearl, gold, and ivory, to add relief to the designs.

In its natural state, lacquer is a grayish-white color that gradually turns dark brown as it dries and hardens. To maintain its transparency, users filtered the resin and removed the water it contained by heating it.

Very quickly, artists sought to achieve different shades of lacquer and added pigments such as pine soot, arsenic sulfide, or lead carbonate, which respectively produced black, green, or brown, and white to gray lacquers. They could layer different colored lacquers, which were revealed during the carving process.

One of the most prized lacquers by collectors is red. This is achieved by coloring the resin with cinnabar or mercury sulfide, a mineral pigment that was already used in prehistoric times for cave painting and was part of immortality elixirs at the beginning of the Common Era. It is important to seek an appraisal of cinnabar lacquer boxes, trays, or cups before an auction.

To estimate the origin and authenticity of a cinnabar lacquer piece, professionals specialized in Asian art base their expertise on the study of the patterns, the fineness of the carvings or inlays, and any engraved marks by artists on pieces reserved for the imperial family.