Japanese Red Lacquer Sculpture by Contemporary Artist (Medium)

View Similar Items

Rhino Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Art by Someya Satoshi

Japanese Red Lacquer Hibachi, c. 1900

Japan Red Lacquered Box 19th Century

Japan Red Lacquered Box 19th century

Fine Japanese Lacquered Inro by Yutokusai

Japanese Red & Black Lacquer Bowl, Early 20th Century

Japanese Red Lacquer Negoro Hibachi with Rabbits, Edo Period, c. 1850

Japanese Lacquered Tebako 'Box'

Japanese Taishō Gold and Red Lacquer Hexagonal Planters with Reeded Cartouches

Fine Japanese Export Red Lacquer Box with Masonic Symbols, circa 1800

Large Japanese Red & Black Lacquer Wooden Bowl, Early 20th Century

1 of 4

Japanese Red Lacquer Sculpture by Contemporary Artist (Medium)

About the Item

Fumie Sasai is a female Japanese artist born in 1973 in Osaka. She chooses the technique called Kanshitsu-Giho (Urushi lacquer is applied over the object that created by layered hemp cloth) to shape her works and Nuritate shiage to finish. She hopes to make something with the shape or feeling of Urushi works that everyone can’t resist touching. Her theme of work is to create young and vivacious feel and shape as if they just came to life with the soft feel of Nuritate shiage. This is why she chooses flowers, fruits and children as motifs of her works. She would like to share the pleasant feel or touch of Urushi through Urushi work that derived from the shapes of plants, animals and children. The artwork is called "Peach" and its is made with urushi lacquer, hemp cloth and polystyrene foam. --- What is urushi lacquer? Urushi is one of Japan’s oldest and most prestigious art forms. The word “Urushi“ is used to indicate the sap extracted from the tree which grows only in Japan and in parts of Southeast Asia. Traditionally, it is thought that the Japanese word derived from uruwashi (nice, pleasant) and uruosu (wet and luxurious). The Urushi, in fact, is a commonly appreciated lacquer for its brilliance, elegance and luster that gives objects covering. What makes the Urushi different than the other lacquers is its particular way of drying: this, in fact, does not follow a standard process, but instead requires exposure to temperature and humidity specifications (that is, between 10-20 degrees centigrade and between 70 and 90 percent humidity). The collection process requires that the natural resin is extracted in the period from June to November, via the parallel incisions on the Urushi tree trunk to make it come out the sap. The rarity and the high commercial value of the sap extracted are due to the fact that every single tree, in a period of about 15 years, produces only 200 grams of Urushi. Once collected, the sap is filtered several times through a hemp cloth and the water content is evaporated from the raw lacquer, thereby obtaining the first urushi said clear. Subsequently, to obtain the color pigments are added; the red lacquer can be “colored“ with addition of small amounts of iron oxides, obtaining red or black depending on the chosen oxide. The lacquer is then applied on the object desired waiting to dry completely before moving on to the next layer, repeating this process several times before moving on to the final polishing. When decorating, the lacquer is often sprinkled with gold or silver dust and gold leaf or pearl inlays are applied, as well as to be more shiny and bright. To obtain a finished object several months of work are required: greater is the number of layers of lacquer used, drying time become longer and higher value assumes the object in question. Appreciated since ancient times for its adhesive and preservative properties, Urushi was initially used for war and hunting weapons. The first lacquer objects, such as combs and trays, were found 5,500 years ago in Japan, in Shimahama Tomb, in Fukui Prefecture. Later, he began to appreciate this type of lacquer for other characteristics. The treated objects, in fact, could be used for aesthetic reasons, used, also, as a strenghtening and water-proofing agent. For example, from the VI century A.D. buddhist monks reached Japan from Korea and gave new stimulus to local Craft which began to use lacquer to decorate buddhist statues. Although wood is the most used material as a base for the objects to be lacquered, also the metal, ceramics, and fabric are suitable for this purpose. In the Japanese process called Kanshitsu – formerly used especially for the realization of the samurai armor – the lacquer is mixed with cooked wand raw clays and then applied to a mold with canvas layers. Through this technique it was possible to produce objects without the need to use a wood core.

Creator:
Fumie Sasai (Artist)
Dimensions:
Height: 5.12 in (13 cm)Width: 4.34 in (11 cm)Depth: 4.73 in (12 cm)
Style:
Minimalist (In the Style Of)
Materials and Techniques:
Hemp,Lacquer,Polystyrene,Other
Place of Origin:
Japan
Period:
2010-
Date of Manufacture:
2010
Production Type:
New & Custom(One of a Kind)
Estimated Production Time:
Available Now
Condition:
Seller Location:
Milan, IT
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU4569114966201