Lacquer ware

In the hilly region of Phu Tho province, 100 kilometres northwest of Hanoi are forests planted with a special lacquer tree (Toxicoderdron succedanea), carefully nurtured by the local population. On each tree trunk are diagonal incisions and jars for the sap that issues forth. Before dawn, people can be seen collecting the sap, which is then kept in waterproof containers for several weeks, and via a process of fermentation, forms into several layers each consisting of a different substance. After straining for several hours, excess liquid is removed from the sap which then oxidises and solidifies. After heating and blending with a type of oil, the resulting lacquer can be applied to wooden objects to protect them from insects and the weather. Lacquered items have been found in ancient tombs dating as far back as tile third and fourth centuries B.C.

Over the centuries, Vietnamese builders and mastercraftsmen have mastered techniques using lacquer for purposes of decoration and preservation. Pillars and beams in pagodas, temples, village communal houses and royal palaces, as well as candlesticks, Buddha and Bodhisattva images, Arhats, deities, ancestral tablets, altars, betel leaf and jewel boxes, and royal decrees - anything of material or spiritual significance was coated with lacquer.

Making lacquerware at Thang Long ARTEX, Hanoi.

Lacquer traditionally comes in three colours - brown, black and vermillion. As Buddhism grew to become the national religion from the 11^th to the 15^th century, the technique and art of lacquering reached its peak. Pagodas and temples appeared everywhere and there was huge demand for lacquered Buddha images made of wood. The following paragraph is from the annals of Dai Viet (ancient Vietnam):

"In the 10^th month of the winter of the Year Canh Thin (1040), the Emperor ordered the holding of an Arhat festival at Long Tri, granted an amnesty to those sentenced to life imprisonment or sent into exile, and halved taxes. Prior to that, he ordered the carving of more than 1,000 Buddha statues, the drawing of more than 1,000 paintings of the Buddha, and the preparation of more than 1,000 banners."

From the 15^th century onwards, the whole of Nam Ngu street was engaged in the production of lacquerware and honoured the founder of the art of lacquering at a communal house. According to English adventurers, in the 17^th century a British merchant took an artisan from his country to Thang Long, the then imperial capital of Vietnam, to learn the skill.

Traditional dance, lacquer painting by artist Nguyen Tu Nghiem.

By the 1930s, artists were no longer content to use just the traditional lacquering techniques; they introduced a new technique known as chiselling, facilitating a richer mix of colours and inaugurating a whole new folk art genre. Lacquer painting now competes successfully with silk anti oil painting. The painting is done on wood, first covered with a piece of cloth glued to it using the sap of the lacquer tree and then coated with a layer of the sap mixed with earth. The board is then sandpapered and recoated with a layer of hot sap. After polishing, this gives a smooth black surface with a brilliant lustre.

The painter uses hot lacquer to draw the outline of a picture and the colours are applied one by one, layer upon layer. Each coat dries slowly. The finishing touches consist of polishing the picture and washing it at the same time. This process may seem like brutal treatment for a work of art but it is in fact done with great care. It leaves a brilliant surface on a painting with great depth - constituting the unique character of this style of painting.

The greatest problem encountered in this field of art lies in the fact that the artist cannot predict with accuracy which colours will appear after the application of many coats of lacquer and hours of polishing. For this reason, he always waits in suspense for tile final outcome.

However, years of experimentation have enabled the artists to devise the art of polychrome through the addition of other substances such as plant material ash, crushed eggshells, gold, silver, and so on. Modern paints with their varied colours and sheens can help the artist express himself fully.