Angular Momentum of Switzerland

Decorative techniques
There are hundreds of decorative techniques developed in the past
centuries to create beautiful lacquer surfaces. They can be described
by a number of categories such as „nashiji“ pear skinn lacquer surfaces
created by sprinkling surfaces by a wide ranke of gold, silver,
zinc, flakes and powders, pigments, dry lacquer powder. „Togidashi“
imitating ink paintings by sprinkling pigments and powders into lacquer.
„Yamimaki“ black on black lacquer designs.
The category „iro nuri“ plays with a wide range of color lacquers
such as „kuro roiro nuri“ polished black lacquer, „negoro nuri“ black
lacquer coated with red lacquer which is partially rubbed down to suggest
use and age. Lacquer techniques for imitation metal surfaces are
called „seidô mitateai“ for bronze, „kuro imonoji“ for cast iron, „sentoku
ji“ for Sentoku, „tetsusabi mojô“ for imitating corroding iron.
Further on techniques to imitate stone surfaces „ishi meji“ or „mokume
nuri“ techniques imitating wooden structures, „juhi mitateai“
imitating the bark of trees, „kawa nuri“ imitating leather, „samegawa
nuri“ imitating fish skinn. Finally an almost impossible to gras
range of experimental lacquer techniques „kawarinuri“ like „seigaiha
nuri“ imitating waves, „nanako nuri“ imitating fish eggs, „aogai nuri“
a wide range of inlaid or laid on or sprinkled mother of pearl, „tamago
kara nuri“ inlaid eggshells, „shippô nuri“ to imitate enamel works.
„Chinkin“ is a technique in which a design is drawn on a perfect polished
surface. Then the picture is engraved with special chisels, then
sticky urushi is rubbed into the surface and engraved lines, removed
again with „washi“ japan paper. Metal powder or gold leaf is then
rubbed into the urushi filled carved grooves. Then the surfavce is polished
in various steps as described above „dozuri, roiromigaki.
„Takamakie“ or raised makie. The design is relief modelled with charcoal
urushi paste or „sabi urushi“. A coat of urushi is applied and polished
when dry. The design elements are coated with clear urushi and
sprinkled with the desired colours. And finally to be mentioned the
techniques „makie urushi“ picture urushi or „takamakie urushi“ high
relief urushi executed in many different ways