About Maki-e
蒔絵は日本独自に発達した漆芸の代表的な技法であり、1200年ほど前から行われています。 器の表面に細い筆を使って漆で絵を描き、その漆が固まらないうちに上から金の粉を蒔きつけて模様を表します。
| What is Maki-e? |
Maki-e is a representative urushi art technique unique to Japan that has been practiced for about 1,200 years. Using a fine brush, a design is painted on the surface of an object with urushi. Before the urushi dries, gold powder is sprinkled on top to form a pattern. The term "maki-e" means "sprinkled picture" in direct translation and there are various methods such as takamaki-e (raised maki-e), hiramaki-e (flat maki-e), and togidashi-maki-e (burnished maki-e).
Maki-e artworks have been exported to Europe and other regions for over 400 years and are still referred to as "Maki-e" abroad. Maki-e is a very splendid technique where gold and silver patterns emerge from the base color of urushi. It is often combined with other techniques such as raden (mother-of-pearl inlay), hyōmon (metal sheet inlay), and rankaku (eggshell inlay).
| Making Process of Maki-e |
①Draw a pattern with urushi
②Sprinkle gold (or silver) powder onto the urushi
③Apply another layer of urushi and polish it with charcoal
④Polish it with deer antler powder to finish
＜Source: "What is Traditional Kōgei?" Edited by Japan Kōgei Association East Japan Branch / Published by Unsodo, P.32>
