Lacquers> 1900 > A large black lacquered pair of plates, Japan, Taisho era, 大正時代, (1912-1926).
A large black lacquered pair of plates, Japan, Taisho era, 大正時代, (1912-1926).
Description:This pair of large black lacquered plates, decorated with stylized chrysanthemum's buds, flowers and leaves, was made using the maki-e technique.
This technique consists of the lacquer being sprayed with gold and silver dust, in different thicknesses, in order to produce an alternation between compact, well-defined surfaces and softer areas.
The shape of this type of plates presumably derives from an European porcelain or pewter one.
The decoration is continuous in all its surface; the Chrysanthemum in Japan is the emblem of the imperial household: its petals remind of the sun rays.
The plates back is decorated with gold nashiji tecnique, also called Aventurine.
It is a form of maki-e that, in Japanese lacquerwork, is frequently employed for the background of a pattern.
Gold or silver flakes, called nashiji-ko, are sprinkled onto the surface of the object, upon which lacquer had been applied.
Nashiji lacquer is then applied and burnished with charcoal, so that the gold or silver can be seen through the lacquer.
The name nashiji is thought to be connected to the resemblance that the lacquer bears to the skin of a Japanese pear nashi.
