The Age Of Rococo - England - Part 9

The sap of a tree, Rhus vernicifera (the lacquer tree or 'lac-tree'), found in Japan, China and Malaya, is the basis of lacquering. The sap is tapped like that of the rubber tree and when dry forms a semi-hard transparent film. The hard, dense result achieved in Oriental lacquering comes from tedious putting on and rubbing down of many successive coats. It is a process which has little in common with modern lacquer, a compound of cellulose derivatives sprayed on by means of compressed air.

The wood is first treated with a mixture of size and whiting and then coated with two or more applications of varnish composed of gum-lac, seed-lac or shallac. These are different preparations of the resin squeezed from twigs on which it is deposited by an insect. Before the resin is ready for the process it is dissolved in spirits of wine and other gums and substances are also added.

In France, imitations of lacquer attained excellence under Louis XIV, who installed artists in the Gobelins factory to manufacture Oriental styles which they called laquage. The Dutch had a long tradition of trade in lacquer work, the first examples of which were boxes sent home from the East by Dutch merchants. Like the French, they employed in handmade furniture, whole panels shipped from the East; they also tried their hand at producing lacquerwork . From Holland, and later from England, made-up furniture was shipped out to China to be lacquered and the Dutch took the trade a step further by sending joiners out to the East to make furniture on the spot, to be lacquered and then transported to an eager market in Europe. Chinese artists were brought to the Low Countries and this venture appeared to be somewhat more successful that the movement of craftsmen in the opposite direction.

In the 17th century the extensive traffic between the Dutch and the English, and the bonds between the courts of Charles II and Louis XIV, created a vogue for japanned work in this country. particularly towards the end of Charles's reign. It produced quantities of japanned cabinets, screens, mirrors and tables.

Under Queen Anne, the strengthening of trade links with China laid the groundwork for a passionate demand for lacquered objects during the second quarter of the 18th century. Different in form from the current trends in Baroque fitted and non fitted furniture, lacquered items nevertheless met the desire for ostentation in decoration and furnishings. It was to be seen in a profusion of japanned cabinets, bureaux, tables, chairs and even entire rooms made up of finely decorated panels. The very wealthy had panels of eastern origin, the moderately wealthy made do with the products of home-based japanners who now formed a flourishing industry in London.