The Golden State: Where & How to Live, Secure, Visit, Enjoy and Thrive in California

Furniture Finishing

Oriental Lacquering

ORIENTAL lacquer, which in no way resembles our own, having been in use for some two thousand years, is obtained from the sap of the "lac" tree, then thinned for finishing purposes with camphor or perilla oil. Like varnish it dries by oxidation, but unlike it, moisture hastens its drying—in fact, the Chinese artisan places the freshly coated piece in a damp cellar or humidity box overnight before putting on the next coat. The number of coats varies with the quality of the work, but twenty or thirty are not uncommon, each brushed on, dried as described and rubbed down—the final one polished to a high lustre. The resulting finish is extremely durable, since first, it is applied over teak, one of the hardest known woods, and second, there is no known solvent for it, being alike impervious to varnish remover, alcohol and ordinary acids.

ORIENTAL AND MODERN LACQUER

It was toward the close of the seventeenth century that Dutch traders first introduced oriental lacquer to the western world in the shape of curiously decorated screens, boxes, chairs and small tables. Imitations of the so-called "Japan varnish" were soon forthcoming, consisting chiefly of shellac mixed with dry vermillion, chrome green, lemon yellow, bone black, etc. The art of application was called "japanning," and attained such wide popularity that a knowledge of it was considered a necessary accomplishment by young ladies of fashion. During the eighteenth century it was applied to all or part of much Georgian cabinet work—in fact whole dining rooms, walls, woodwork and chairs were made to run riot with vermillion paint and gold or silver decorations.

In our more scientific age many attempts have been made to adapt the original Chinese lacquer to modern production methods, but without success. Further incentive is lacking, due to the fact that our newly developed, quick-drying nitro-cellulose lacquers adequately serve all practical American purposes. Thus lacquer to us means a speed of application which makes it possible to place the finished product in the hands of the many at a more moderate price; to the oriental it means painstaking craftmanship on the part of the furniture maker, great wealth and rank on the part of the owner.