On April 19, 2008, an exhibition on lacquer artworks collected from across China was held in Yangzhou, Jiangsu Province. It proved to be a real feast for lacquer vultures.

Originating thousands of years ago, lacquer ware, together with porcelain, pottery, and bronze ware, played a big part in people’s lives through China’s history. Lacquer ware was not only used as daily utensils like bowls, pots and boxes, but cherished as unrivaled art works which boasted fascinating patterns, chic shapes, elegant colors and unparalleled craftsmanship.

Color wise, lacquer ware is mostly in black or red, as the natural lacquer easily turns black if used too much and red matches black well. Although lacquer ware in yellow, brown and blue later appeared, black and red kept to be the dominate colors.

The earliest lacquer ware in China

According to Han Feizi, a Chinese philosopher in 3rd century BC., Shun, one of the alleged sacred ancestors of ethnic Chinese who lived 4,000 years ago, was the first man to use lacquer ware. If this record had been true, lacquer ware would have had a history of some 4,000 thousand years. Yet, a remarkable archeological discovery in the 1970s disproved this assumption.

Hemudu, the archeological site of the Neolithic age, was discovered in the summer of 1973 in the town of Hemudu, Yuyao City of Zhejiang Province. Among the unearthed relics of daily utensils, a wooden bowl wrapped with red lacquer shined under light, drawing wide attention from archeologists. This bowl dating back to six thousand years ago is counted as the earliest lacquer ware ever discovered in China.

Lacquer ware in Zenghouyi Tomb

Lacquer artisanship gained momentum in the Warring States (475-221 BC). Craftsmen paid more attention to the improvement of the quality of lacquer, the shape of the containers, the coloring and the decorative grains. A rare archeological find in 1978 in Suizhou City of Hubei Province brought a large number of fine lacquer wares to light.