National Museum exhibition compares Asian lacquerware techniques and cultures

Visitors at the exhibition, "Ottchil, the Coated Splendor of Asian Lacquerwares," at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Monday. The exhibition shows up to 263 lacquered objects from various Asian countries. Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

Toxicodendron vernicifluum, commonly known as lacquer trees, have been cultivated in Asian countries for centuries. In Korea, some people boil "samgyetang" or ginseng chicken soup with twigs of lacquer tree wood due to their health benefits. Lacquer tree wood is known for its antioxidant properties, which prevents or slows cell damage.

The lacquer trees' sap, called "ot" in Korean, can cause allergic reactions in people due to a compound called urushiol, which can trigger rashes.

But the sticky ingredient is one of the oldest and most effective natural paints used to create a shiny and glossy finish on furniture and crafts, resulting in a waterproof layer. The plant is also used as a natural ingredient to repel bugs and germs. This traditional usage of the sap is known as "ottchil" in Korean, which literally means, "painting the sap of a lacquer tree." It has also been used as a natural glue. Depending on its usage, lacquerware can last for a very long period of time and more than a thousand years in some cases.

If it is painted on wood, the sap normally turns reddish black in color. But the sap can be transformed into any color by adding various ingredients, such as iron powder.

The "ottchil" technique was largely used in Korea, China and Japan. There are not many lacquerware specimens showing exactly when the technique began to be used on the Korean Peninsula. But some relics show that lacquered objects existed on the peninsula as early as the 3rd century BC.

Korea, China and Japan shared a similar lacquerware culture until the Unified Silla era (668―935). But they developed their own styles afterwards. For example, Korea during the Goryeo Dynasty (918―1392) started to use mother-of-pearl on lacquered objects, while Japan during the Nara period (710―784) started to develop a technique known as "maki-e" or drawing paintings on the surface of lacquerware by using sap and sprinkling gold and silver powder on the surface.

China also developed a distinctive lacquer technique of carving designs on thick layered coats of sap. The lacquer tree was also used in some Southeast Asian countries. Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam developed their own unique lacquerware techniques.

A special exhibition called "Ottchil, the Coated Splendor of Asian Lacquerwares" at the National Museum of Korea, which opened to the public on Monday, sheds light on the lacquerware cultures and products of Asian countries. Up to 263 lacquered objects from Korea, China and Japan, as well as Southeast Asian countries, are on display at the state-run museum until March 20 of next year.

"Trefoil-shaped covered box with chrysanthemum decoration" / Courtesy of the National Museum of Korea

One of the highlights of the exhibition is the "Trefoil-shaped covered box with decoration of chrysanthemum," which the museum purchased last year from a collector in Japan. The artifact has been unveiled for the first time to public. There are only three examples of that relic left in the world.

About thirty pieces came from the Shanghai Museum and five pieces from the Tokyo National Museum.

"Lacquer trees were mainly grown in Asian countries. And Korea developed its unique mother-of-pearl lacquerware culture and so did Thailand and Vietnam. We hope to shed light on the diverse aspects of the lacquerware cultures in Asia, which developed into unique forms using the lacquer tree's sap," Noh Nam-hee, curator of the exhibition said.

"Otchil, the Korean term to describe the painting with lacquer tree's sap, was hard to translate into English as there is no such concept in English. The word, 'Japan,' in English, means 'lacquer' if it's used as a noun. It means 'giving a gloss to or coating' as the country introduced their lacquered wares to Western countries, but is not used often."

Visitors at the exhibition "Ottchil, the Coated Splendor of Asian Lacquerwares" at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Monday. The exhibition shows up to 263 lacquered objects from various Asian countries. Yonhap

Divided into four sections, "Meeting Lacquerware," "Decorating Lacquerware," "Revealing Regional Characteristics" and "Transcending Boundaries," the artworks in each section show the development of the unique lacquer cultures of Asia in chronological order.

The exhibition focuses on explaining the broad concept of ottchil according to its origins, usage and how and when it was made. It presents lacquerware, such as a lidded box (mojahap), which formed a pillar of craft culture, along with pottery and metalware, and shows that the culture was developed through mutual exchanges of other artworks, such as ceramics, in the same era. The section also presents a video on making lacquerware products, aiming to show the laborious process in which it takes months to finish a product.

The "Decorating Lacquerware" section shows three basic techniques of finishing lacquerware: coating, painting and sticking.

"By using the three original techniques, the technique of decorating lacquerware with luxurious materials, such as gold and silver, which use the adhesive trait of lacquer, also emerged. It was developed into the 'pyeongtal' technique, a way to decorate lacquerware by sandpapering the surface of the objects after designing patterns made out of luxurious materials on it, and became popular in East Asia in the 7th-8th centuries.

In the section called "Revealing Regional Characteristics," visitors can compare lacquerware from Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, which are displayed next to each other.

Visitors view the exhibition, "Ottchil, the Coated Splendor of Asian Lacquerwares," at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, on Monday. The exhibition shows up to 263 lacquered objects from various Asian countries. Yonhap

"'Trefoil-shaped covered box with decoration of chrysanthemum' is a very rare piece showing the delicate and core technique of making lacquerware during the Goryeo period. A characteristic of the period is that artisans thinly sliced mother-of-pearl and created some patterned shapes as designs. People used other materials in decorating the lacquerwares, such as metal wire and tortoiseshell," Noh said.

She added that the lacquerware in Myanmar was luxurious by mixing up various ingredients as wel as transparent and colorful glasses on the surface. "Thailand and Vietnam have been making a lot of mother-of pearl lacquerware like Korea. In Korea, people only add mother-of-pearl designs on the surface and then sandpaper it to finish, but in Vietnam, artisans carve the dishes and put mother-of-pearl patterns designed to fit the carved frames."

In the "Transcending Boundaries" section, the exhibition traces the changes in lacquerware beyond regions and classes. In the later Joseon period, lacquerware, which had been used mainly among high-ranking people, started to be used among ordinary people, and can be seen even in daily necessities such as pillowcases

"The lacquerware made in Japan and China was exported to Europe beyond Asia after the 17th century. 'Nanban lacquerware,' a made-to-order product for export to European merchants, was developed in Japan. For example, the exhibition shows Bible stands that were made to be sold to European customers."

In the epilogue of the exhibition, works of contemporary artists inspired by lacquerware or using its traditional production techniques, will be shown revealing current interpretations of the traditional artisan techniques.

Visitors view the exhibition, "Ottchil, the Coated Splendor of Asian Lacquerwares," at the National Museum of Korea, Seoul, Monday. The exhibition shows up to 263 lacquered objects from various Asian countries. Yonhap