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Lai rod nam
While basic lacquer manufacture is mainly associated with the
north of the country, the highly evolved technique of gilded
black lacquer, known as lai rod nam or ‘design washed with water’
in Thai, was a product of the capital cities. It was at its best
in Ayutthaya in the 17th - mid18th centuries, and in Bangkok from
the end of the 18th century.
The basic lacquer surface is first polished to a perfect sheen.
The design-eventually rendered in gold leaf-is painted onto the
surface with a resist, or horadarn ink, just as batik patterns
are created, The resist is a sticky combination of makwid gum,
sompoy solution and a mineral. The design outline is usually
drawn onto a sheet of paper, which is then placed over the
lacquer. The outline is pricked gently with a needle to create a
row of dots; a bag of ash or chalk is pressed over these dots and
the paper peeled away to leave a removable trace. The resist is
then applied to the areas that will become the clear
background-that is, the reverse of the image.
The whole area is next coated which is allowed to dry to the
point of being sticky delicate, finely beaten gold leaf is laid
down over the entire surface. After about 20 hours, the work is
gently washed with water: the horadarn ink absorbs the moisture,
expands, and causes the gold leaf above it to become detached,
leaving behind the gold leaf applied to the lines and areas
between the resist. Since this process did not always work
perfectly the first time, a considerable amount of retouching was
needed.
Some of the finest examples of Ayutthayan gilded lacquer work are
seen on manuscript cabinets. The detail on right from a cabinet
door shows two mythical lions at play in a forest; it is also
from that period. The scene above, from the Inner Court of the
Grand Palace’s from the Rattanakosin period and shows an
asurawayapak, a creature with the lower body of a bird and the
torso and head of a giant (a variant on the better-know
kinnorn:half bird-half man), standing in the Himavamsa Forest.
Ironically, while the technique of gilding lacquer came from Chin,
it was Chines art that was responsible for the decline of
standards in Thailand. As professor Silpa Bhilasri points out,
the two conventions were incompatible, as Chinese design treated
spatial elements in a three-dimensional manner. Yet, during the
early 19th century, the popularity at court for things Chinese
encouraged the introduction of this Chinese form of expression,
to the detriment of the two-dimensional, complex Thai art.
The manufacture of
lacquer receptacles Is among the
most important traditional crafts in Thailand, being part of an
almost 3,000-year Asian tradition which most likely originated in
China, In its basic form, Thai lacquer ware is undecorated and
highly functional, although its inherent beauty may disguise its
utilitarian nature. Well-applied lacquer has a remarkable range
of characteristics; it is light, flexible, waterproof and hard;
it also resists mildew and polishes to a smooth luster. Indeed,
it has many of the qualities of some plastics, but with the
advantage of being a naturally evolved product from local
materials.
Lacquer in Southeast Asia comes from the resin of Melanorrhea
usitata, a fairly large tree that grows wild, up to an elevation
of around 1,000-m (3,000 ft) in the drier forests of the north.
It is similar to the Sumac tree of China and Japan, Rhus
Vernicifera.
In Thai, Lacquer ware is called kreung kheun (kreung in this case
meaning ‘works’), which hints at its origins. The tai Kheun are
an ethnic Tai group from the Shan States in Burma; after the 1775
re-capture of Chiang Mai from the Burmese, the new ruler, Chao
Kawila, forcibly moved entire villages from the Shan States in
Burma to re-populate and revitalize the city. This kind of
re-settlement after victory was a common practice then, and
craftsmen were particularly valued. One community of lacquer
workers settled in the south of the city and their name became
synonymous with lacquer.
Although lacquer is often applied to wood, its original us was
over a carefully made wicker-base structure: this brings forth
two of its finer qualities-lightness and flexibility. In fact,
with a well-made bowl it is possible to compress the rim, such
that the opposite sides meet, without cracking or deforming it.
The process is time-consuming. The form is first made using
splints of hieh bamboo; their width and thickness must be
appropriate to the object size. If they are too big, the gaps
between them will be too wide to take the costing of lacquer. The
best time for applying lacquer is supposedly the end of the rainy
season, when the atmosphere is moist but not too hot. The resin
is applied in a number of layers, each of which must be
completely dry before the next coat is applied: the entire
process can take up to six months. The resin, or rak in Thai, has
varying admixtures at different stages. The first layer is often
mixed with finely ground clay so as to fill the gaps in the
wicker-work, while the last and finest layers are mixed with ash,
from burnt rice, bone or cow dung.
Once each layer is dry, smoothing occurs, using various materials
at different stages, including dried leaves, paddy husks and teak
charcoal. Finally, the finished piece is polished wit oil. The
natural color of lacquer is black; the re finish characteristic
of Shan-style lacquer ware from the North is derived from ground
cinnabar, for the best quality (now rare), or the less intense
red ochre, which tends to flake.
02. December 2004