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Mother-of-pearl
A craft that
probably developed in Ayutthaya
as early as the mid-14th century, and which the Thais practice in
a distinctive style, is mother-of-pearl inlaid into black
lacquer. It is painstaking work: the individual elements are very
small and lacquer embedding involves many appellations. Yet the
best Thai craftsmen have gone to extremes, not Just of intricate
detail, but of scale of the finished objects. The best-known
examples, remarkable in their execution, are the doors of the
ordination hall or ubosot at Wat Phra Kaeo, the Temple of the
Emerald Buddha, at the grand Place in Bangkok. From a distance
they display a coherent decorative design, yet close up the
decoration resolves into intricate miniature scenes; as the scale
changes, so does the part played by the shifting nacreous colors.
This is a hallmark of fine mother-of-pearl inlay.
The mother-of-pearl is the nacreous inner layer of the shell of
some molluscs, including oysters. As with pearls, the luster is
from the translucency of the thin lining, while the play of
colors is caused by optical interference. Thai craftsmen favor
the green turban shell found on the West Coast of south Thailand
for the density of its accretions, but because the shell is
naturally curved, it must be cut into small pieces in order to
assemble into flat inlay work. Even then, the pieces must be
ground and polished to flatten their edges. Working with large
numbers of; small pieces of shell inevitably complicates the
assembly process, but it also stimulates the intricacy
characteristic of inlay work.
The design is first traced onto paper. Next, the outer surface of
the shell is removed by grinding, and the remaining mother-of
pearl sections are cut into pieces generally no languor than
2.5cm(1 in). These pieces are honed with flint or a whetstone to
reveal the color, and then temporarily glued to a wood backing or
a V-shaped wood mount, ready for final cutting. The design is
transferred to the shell by tracing paper, which is then cut into
individual pieces with a curved bow saw,. Removed from the wood
mount, the edges of the mother-of pearl pieces are filed smooth
to fit, and pasted face down into position onto the paper that
carries the design.
The embedding process then starts: several layers of lacquer are
applied to the object to be decorated. While the last layer is
still sticky, the assembly of mother-of-pearl pieces on their
paper backing is pressed down onto it, paper side out. Once the
lacquer is completely dry, the paper and paste are washed off
with water.
There still remains a difference in the level between the
mother-of-pearl and the lacquer, so the intervening spaces must
be filled in with repeated applications of a mixture of lacquer
and pounded charcoal (from burnt banana leaves or grass) known as
rak samuk. After each application, the surface is carefully
polished with a whetstone and a little water, and allowed to dry;
the process continues until the mother-of-pearl is finally
covered. After though drying, the surface is polished with dry
banana leaf and coconut oil until the mother-of –pearl appears
perfectly and smoothly embedded.
Not surprisingly, such a laborious technique is used nowadays.
Modern designs are less complex, and the mother-of-pearl is glued
directly to the usually wooden surface of the object. Black
tempura and filler are then used for the embedding: lacquer is
often not involved at all. The pieces here, including the tieb, a
receptacle with a cone-shaped cover used for offering food to
monks, are, however, from the old school-magnificent examples of
the Rattanakosin period.
02. December 2004