Korea's beauty in lacquerware

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Bernard Rowan

Korea's beauty in lacquerware

Posted : 2018-11-06 17:02

Updated : 2018-11-06 17:02

By Bernard Rowan

Lacquerware, "najeonjang" or "najeon chilgi," is Intangible Cultural Property No. 10 for Korea. Made with abalone inlay, precious materials, and lacquer ("ottchil"), these wood and metal works are a beautiful adornment for any home. One of my favorite memories of a first visit to Korea was walking through Insa-dong and buying several modest boxes for my mother and sisters. Their variety and beautiful colors are so appealing. I remember another that now adorns my wife's dresser and is beautiful to see each day. Any piece of lacquerware makes a special gift or possession for use and appreciation.

The Korean art of fine lacquerware products is on par with its counterparts in China, Japan and Uzbekistan among others. It's curious to note that Wikipedia's page on lacquerware nearly bypasses the contributions of Korea to the art form. Koreans often take offense at the misunderstanding of Korean culture in official histories and publications. Never fear in this case. Experts can change Wikipedia; it's publicly open to improvement! Korean experts and authorities, please share the storied history of beautiful lacquerware.

In 2016, the San Francisco Asian Museum of Art hosted a months' long display of Korean lacquerware. Visit their website to view the excellent video on restoration. It taught me a lot I didn't know. The use of ultraviolet x-ray and chemical analysis techniques reveals the kinds of materials employed: abalone, crushed animal bones, wiring plated in gold, and even dried ray skin. Classic Korean motifs, sometimes adapted from China, Buddhism and elsewhere, have influence. There are distinctive Korean tendencies in producing lacquerware objects and furniture too.

Go find the Antique Alive website. It features an excellent introductory discussion on lacquerware. It also showcases the life and work of Song Bang-ung, one of our era's finest lacquerware artisans. I learned here of a key difference between Chinese, Japanese and Korean versions of the art form involving how the abalone is inlaid. The Korean art uses thin strips of abalone interior lining to perfect the coloring effects. One also learns of the conscious cultivation through government policies during the Three Kingdoms period. This excellent website details the major steps in Korean lacquerware making. It's the most comprehensive source I've found in English to understand this precious art form.

The two major forms of Korean lacquerware technique concern the use of mother-of-pearl. Filing or jereumjil fits pre-set abalone patterns on the lacquerware, it's more present-day form. Kkeuneumjil, or cutting, uses thin strips of abalone inlay to apply designs directly. This older, more painstaking version dates to the Goryeo period. The USC Pacific Asia Museum web discussion of Korean lacquerware notes other important points. They include copper wiring in the kkeuneumjil method and the art form's popularization during the Joseon era. It also presents Jung Myung-che, named as Intangible Cultural Property of Seoul, and his work.

Another valuable website on Korean lacquerware is the Victoria and Albert Museum. Its page on a more recent exhibition discusses the 45 steps involved in the art form and features the work of Lee Hung-man. I liked the related V and A video, "How was it made? A traditional Korean inlaid lacquer box" on YouTube. It shows the work of Lee Kwang-woong. The less than five-minute video made me want to try! This master artisan makes it look easy, but the artwork shown took twelve months to complete!

In reading further about Master Lee, I found that ottchil, the lacquer itself, comes from the toxic sap of the tree, rhus verniciflua. It's highly durable, not losing luster after hundreds of years or more. The sap endures water, acid, and heat.

Each global society contains various distinctive traditions, practices, and arts. The art of Korean lacquerware is not dying but needs continual cultivation. It forms a nontypical and specialized skill that keeps currency and marketability today. A 2010 Korea Times article bemoaned the "doldrums" of lacquerware and the need to adopt new forms. I'm not so sure. The phase of modernization saw cheap versions of traditional products for mass consumption. That continues, but alongside has arisen a trend of "artisanal" products and niche markets. This better fits traditional and newer versions of cultivating the fine art. I hope I'm wrong, but I've not succeeded in finding a few institutions or universities, companies, NGOs or government-sponsored institutes dedicated to cultivating the practice of this art form. That'd be a great idea for the 21st century.

Bernard Rowan (browan10@yahoo.com) is associate provost for contract administration and professor of political science at Chicago State University. He is a past fellow of the Korea Foundation and former visiting professor at Hanyang University.