About Laquerart

Even today, accessories like jewelry, caskets, trays and drinking cups, but also larger items such as cabinets and closets are being artfully and lovingly hand-crafted by using this special lacquering technique.

There are no limits in terms of diversity of lacquer goods. Art objects as well as household articles are being fabricated by means of this traditional craftwork. As Burmese lacquer objects are being used for everyday domestic purposes, they are naturally food-safe, waterproof and by and large break-proof. However, lacquer objects are heat-resistant only to a limited extent.

The carcass of each individual piece consists of a base made of plaited bamboo or rattan or plaited horse hair.

In different work steps the lacquer, extracted from the so-called “lacquer tree”, is applied in layers on the carcass.
The resin of this tree, just growing between 2000 and 3000 m above sea level, is first brown in color and only darkens slowly after a few days under the influence of oxygen until it is eventually deep black.

Many time-consuming work steps have to be performed until the objects can be engraved and ornamented using a number of different carving techniques.

Every layer of lacquer needs several days to harden, mostly between 3 and 10 days, which is done in mainly dust-free underground drying chambers. The objects are being sanded and polished between each lacquer application, ranging from 4 to 7 applications, in order to obtain a smooth and even surface and to add denseness and firmness to the objects.

After completed engraving with pointed iron tools of different sizes, the items are dipped into a dye vat with natural color pigments.

The sophisticated manufacture of each individual item, the artistic ornaments as well as the vibrancy of the objects, varying under particular lighting conditions, turn Burmese lacquer goods into popular collectibles for connoisseurs or for people who know to appreciate precious handcraft. Especially with larger items, such as tables or room dividers, this qualitative complex manufacturing technique may involve up to one year production time.