European Lacquer Research Articles

A Comparative Aesthetics Analysis on Song Dynasty Lacquer Dish in the Form of Plum Blossoms with a Red-brushed Pattern of Two Phoenixes

The Chinese artcraft in Song and Ming Dynasty set a standard that is understood as both unique and influential. Through comparative research, the lacquered Artcraft in East Asia and Europe would provide a holistic view of how Chinese lacquer art craft transferred through dynasties. Two Chinese crafts, Ming Yongle red-painted tea flower round plate and the Song dynasty Lacquer dish in the form of plum blossoms with a red-brushed pattern of two phoenixes are illustrated. It then presents a gilt-bronze inlaid lacquer vessel from France in the reign of Louis XV, made by the Japanese and European Lacquer Bureau, and one can see the great difference between it and the two previous ones made in China. It is inlaid on the top surface with figures, carriages, and horses, as well as with figures of mountains, rocks, and trees, with most of the figures concentrated on the left side, while the right side is left relatively empty of white space. It is argued that from several aspects, the comparison is worthwhile.

Lacquer and Imitation Lacquer Folding Screens in New Spain

Folding screens were very popular in New Spain beginning in the late 16th century. From the second half of the 17th century on, many Chinese and some European lacquer folding screens circulated in New Spain, inspiring the development of Novohispanic lacquer, imitation lacquer, and Chinese-style folding screens. The decorative technique of these Novohispanic folding screens has not been studied, but evidence suggests that some of them were made with techniques that have pre-Columbian roots, others with European lacquer techniques, and others still with paint and varnish adapted to produce a shiny surface resembling that of Asian lacquer. Thus, 18th-century New Spain was the place where there was the widest variety of lacquer folding screens in the world. Hitherto this variety has remained unnoticed, but studying it is essential to understand to what extent the globalization of the taste for lacquer gave rise to innovative solutions in the Americas.

Quality control of natural resins used in historical European lacquer reconstructions with some reflections on the composition of sandarac resin (Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast.)

In order to verify correct labeling and purity of natural lacquer ingredients sold today, 66 resins, gums and oils were analyzed by THM-GC/MS and compared with non-commercial reference samples. 21 deviations were found, indicating an adulteration or mislabeling of a resin. Many of the deviations occurred in sandarac resin, traditionally harvested from Tetraclinis articulata (Vahl) Mast., which seems to have another composition today than historically. Differences between both types were persistent through artificial aging. This study comprised one freshly harvested sandarac resin, as well as several specimens of historical collections, as reference material for Tetraclinis articulata. The currently sold sandarac was compared with the Tetraclinis articulata references, and with resins from the genera Agathis, Juniperus and Callitris, but its botanical source was not revealed.

The Impact of European Lacquer on Eighteenth-Century Colonial Mexico

ABSTRACTPre-Columbian artistic techniques were used in viceregal Mexico to make ‘lacquer’ objects. Colonial lacquer pieces were often related to either Asian or European production. However, traditional research has overlooked their relationship with European lacquer. This paper demonstrates that several eighteenth-century white, blue and black lacquer works from Pátzcuaro (State of Michoacán) are closely related to English japanning, particularly to models in Stalker and Parker’s and Sayer’s treatises of 1688 and 1762 respectively. Documentary information is discussed to prove not only that European lacquer pieces circulated in colonial Mexico, but also that European lacquer techniques were used by coach makers in Mexico City. Finally, discussion focuses on colonial red bureau-cabinets and folding screens that – whether made with painting or lacquer techniques – are closely related to English japanned originals. These examples serve to affirm that European lacquer had a leading role in the popularization of lacquer work in eighteenth-century Mexico. In turn, the fact that Mexico was an important consumption centre of European lacquer suggests that eighteenth-century European lacquer was more global than has been previously recognized.

AMDIS & EXCEL: A Powerful Combination for Evaluating THM-Py-GC/MS Results from European Lacquers

ABSTRACTPyrolysis gas chromatography/mass spectrometry using tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) for thermally-assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM-Py-GC/MS) is a powerful analytical technique for comprehensive characterization of organic materials in European lacquers. A daunting challenge, though, is systematically sorting through the vast number of chromatographic peaks in order to accurately locate marker compounds that are characteristic of lacquer artists’ materials. AMDIS (Automated Mass spectral Deconvolution and Identification System) software, developed by NIST, is proven to be capable of extracting and locating library marker compounds in highly complex GC/MS data files. An AMDIS marker compound library of more than 1400 compounds representing Asian and European lacquer and a number of other artists’ materials has been compiled from information in various publications and private communications. A customized Excel workbook was developed to semi-automatically analyse and interpret the marker compound information in the AMDIS search report, using interpretation guides based upon knowledge shared by experts in material characterization that aid in accurate identification. These software tools have been used in training workshops, organized by the Getty Conservation Institute, by scientists with varying levels of GC/MS experience to successfully identify artists’ materials in complex samples from lacquered works of art. Based upon positive feedback from the workshop participants and successful application in their laboratories, we have concluded that the tools may be considered as an Expert System for Characterization with AMDIS Plus Excel (ESCAPE). Examples will be shown for using ESCAPE to identify a wide range of natural products in samples from lacquered objects and easel paintings.

Reconstruction and Natural Aging of Seventeenth- through Nineteenth-Century European Lacquer Formulations

ABSTRACTFor the conservator seeking to understand the structure and deterioration of European lacquer it is important to study the materials and techniques of the time. This study that took place over the past three decades, begins with the period recipe books, moves onto the production of sample panels then concludes with a look at some of their aging characteristics. Small panels were created with the help of interns, using recipes by Robert Dossie, William Salmon, John Stalker and George Parker, Jean-Felix Watin and others. This process demonstrated that the techniques used in the application prove to be important. The European Lacquer in Context project provided the perfect opportunity to examine changes in these boards as they have naturally aged over the last three decades. In this paper the initial formulas and production methods are compared to the current physical characteristics of the panels.

The Use of Aquazol® 500 as a Reversible Infilling Material for European Lacquer: A Case Study

ABSTRACTThe paper discusses the conservation treatment of a red lacquer cabinet in a private collection in northern Germany, the tests that were conducted to confirm the suitability of Aquazol® 500 as an infilling material, and the development of procedures for its use. The particular requirements of a suitable in-filling material for lacquer are discussed and the initial tests leading to the choice of Aquazol® as an infilling material for lacquer are briefly described. The body of the paper concerns the development of techniques for its successful use as a filling material for lacquer losses on a European red lacquer cabinet dating to c. 1720.

A Cabinet on a Stand in Asian Style (c.1710) from Weikersheim Palace, Germany: Investigation of European Lacquer and its Conservation

ABSTRACTA cabinet on a stand (dated between 1710 and 1712), which is decorated with European lacquer in Asian style, was investigated technically. The cabinet belongs to the interior of the bedroom of Princess Elisabeth Friederike Sophie von Oettingen-Oettingen (1691–1758), in Weikersheim Palace, Germany. It is part of an ensemble of black lacquered objects that are attributed to the local cabinetmaker Johann Eberhardt Sommer (1675–1723) and the painter Johann Conrad Hoffmann. Detailed information about the stratigraphy of the original lacquer and the components of single layers was obtained. A conservation plan was developed and treatment was carried out, involving removal of later varnishes and polishing of the uncoated surface.

Johann Adalbert Kratochwill and His Two ‘Indian’ Interiors in Bohemia

ABSTRACTWhile the work of western European lacquer workshops has been described in much detail, the lacquer workshops in central Europe have not been extensively researched. Nevertheless, they, too, reflected the taste for exotic themes and non-traditional techniques imported from the Orient with the same intensity starting in the late seventeenth century, when an increasing number of aristocratic residences in the region were decorated with exotic and iconographical unfamiliar depictions and interiors (featuring imported Oriental pieces or their more readily available copies). They were produced by local artists and craftsmen, who learned to translate motifs from contemporary literature or their own experience using themes from the past. In the same way as neighbouring Saxony had Martin Schnell or Berlin had Gérard Dagly, the territory of Austria had its own peerless lacquer master – Johann Adalbert Kratochwill, who did lacquerware with scenes in the chinoiserie style. In Bohemia Kratochwill was known under the Czech version of his name Jan Vojtěch Kratochvíl or Jan Vojtěch Kratochvíle. In archival sources his surname is sometimes referred to as Cratochwill. His activities are most closely linked with the aristocratic Sachsen-Lauenburg family, namely the Margrave of Baden-Baden, and the family residences in Schlackenwerth (Ostrov nad Ohří) and Rastatt, Germany. Somewhat later, his presence is documented in Vienna and then Prague. In Bohemia, Kratochwill was one of the artists who had a monopoly on exotic decorative elements. In 1712, he obtained an imperial privilege to use varnish paints, which until then had not been used in the Czech Lands. In 1718, he even acquired an imperial patent for a ten-year privilege to paint ‘in the Indian manner’ throughout Austria. His lacquer workshop is also interesting for the fact that it carried on after his death under the management of his widow, the painter Maria Anna Kratochvillin, who headed it for almost twenty years. Kratochwill decorated the Chinese Salon in the palace of prominent nobleman Wenzel Adalbert of Sternberg on the Prague Castle grounds. He drew inspiration from non-European models and emulated the principles of Japanese and Chinese lacquerware imported to Europe by the Dutch East India Company. It has recently been shown that the Oriental Salon in the Sternberg Palace might not have been the only work his workshop did on Bohemian territory. Another newly discovered product of Kratochwill's workshop is the dining hall decoration of the chateau in Zákupy/Reichstadt, North Bohemia. Its connection with this master had not been previously known, but a thorough study reveals a composition similar to that of the panels from the Sternberg Palace in Prague.

Gelact ende verguld: New Discoveries from Willem Kick’s Workshop in Amsterdam

ABSTRACTThe name Willem Kick (1579–1647) has been known in specialized literature since the studies by Lunsingh Scheurleer and Huth and, more recently, by Baarsen, who identified him as an Amsterdam-based merchant to whom a patent was granted in 1609 for the manufacture of ‘all sorts of lacquer works’. Kick held a monopoly position as the first identifiable practitioner of this trade in Holland and the whole of Northern Europe, where the lacquer craft was just beginning to become established. Recent acquisitions by the Museum für Lackkunst have not only significantly enlarged the group of objects that can be attributed to Kick’s workshop, but also confirm the profile of his atelier as documented in archival sources. The fabrication of lacquered furniture is illustrated by a cabinet and the manufacture of tableware by a plate which relies on metal as its substrate material. It lends decisive support to the presumed attribution because Kick was granted in 1619 an additional patent for ‘lacquer work on metal’, thus paving the way toward a bright future for a specifically European lacquer technology. The plate in Münster is the sole presently known specimen of Kick’s trailblazing innovation. Other Kick plates in Uppsala and Ulm underscore the importance of lacquered and gilt tableware in his product assortment.

The analysis of European lacquer: optimization of thermochemolysis temperature of natural resins

In order to optimize chromatographic analysis of European lacquer, thermochemolysis temperature was evaluated for the analysis of natural resins. Five main ingredients of lacquer were studied: sandarac, mastic, colophony, Manila copal and Congo copal. For each, five temperature programs were tested: four fixed temperatures (350, 480, 550, 650 °C) and one ultrafast thermal desorption (UFD), in which the temperature rises from 350 to 660 °C in 1 min. In total, the integrated signals of 27 molecules, partially characterizing the five resins, were monitored to compare the different methods. A compromise between detection of compounds released at low temperatures and compounds formed at high temperatures was searched. 650 °C is too high for both groups, 350 °C is best for the first, and 550 °C for the second. Fixed temperatures of 480 °C or UFD proved to be a consensus in order to detect most marker molecules. UFD was slightly better for the molecules released at low temperatures, while 480 °C showed best compounds formed at high temperatures.

Lacquer: Technology and Conservation: A Comprehensive Guide to the Technology and Conservation of Asian and European Lacquer

Introduction ASIAN LACQUER: What is Asian lacquer?, Substrates, Grounds, Finishing layers, Decorative techniques, Deterioration, Conservation JAPANNING, What is Japanning (European lacquer)?, Substrates for Japanning, Grounds for Japanning, Recipes and Finishing techniques, Decorative techniques for Japanning, Deterioration of Japanning, Conservation of Japanning. Glossary.