--- description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. title: Journey of lacquerware through dynasties image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0343ce58d2922a31/6a4b523a8df1a6a0636e1570/77861301CCF14C2F886D572069D5CB01.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- # Journey of lacquerware through dynasties  _This content was paid for and prepared by China Daily, an official publication of the People's Republic of China. The TIME editorial and advertising departments were not involved in the creation of this content._ Visitors admire a delicate vessel on show at The Art of Chinese Lacquerware exhibition. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY By XU LIN and LIU KUN Visitors admire the delicate patterns on lacquered plates and bowls, but a collective sense of wonder overcomes them when they stand before a large lacquered screen adorned with scenes of ancient architecture and vivid figures. China is known as the world’s earliest country to discover and utilize natural lacquer. Its tradition of lacquerware dates back about 8,000 years based on solid archaeological findings, and has endured uninterrupted to the present day. The exhibition The Art of Chinese Lacquerware at the Hubei Provincial Museum in Wuhan, which opened at the end of September and will run until Jan 4, 2026, is being co-hosted by the provincial museum and the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, in the United States. It demonstrates ancient Chinese and contemporary lacquer art, and the conservation and restoration of excavated lacquer objects. A total of 180 pieces (sets) are on show, including those in the collection of Hubei Provincial Museum, and dated to the Warring States Period (475-221 B.C.), Qin (221-206 B.C.) and Han (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) dynasties. These are complemented by 81 pieces (sets) carefully selected from the San Francisco museum’s collection, from the Song (960-1279), Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The event marks the first large-scale exhibition of the U.S. museum’s lacquerware collection. Together, these works represent the very peak of lacquerware development in China. The exhibition also features exquisite artifacts from six other Chinese museums, including the Hunan Museum, in Changsha, and Hubei’s Jingzhou Museum, along with contemporary artworks from the Hubei Museum of Art that have been created by domestic and international artists. “The exhibition embodies the importance of cultural exchange between China and the U.S. Such high-level cultural interactions can not only strike an emotional chord with the public but also facilitate more meaningful dialogue between nations,” says Jay Xu, retired director of the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco. “China possesses the world’s most diverse lacquerware craftsmanship and the longest history of production ... The crafting techniques of lacquerware have been continually refined over different eras, giving rise to a rich diversity of new methods and styles,” he says. He highlights that natural lacquer is an environmentally friendly material. Although it may cause allergies during the production process, it becomes very durable and lightweight once finished. “This makes it highly suitable for daily use, while its aesthetic appeal remains strong, ranging from understated elegant pieces to those adorned with elaborate designs,” he says. According to him, the San Francisco museum’s lacquer objects are of exceptional quality and provide a comprehensive overview of the craftsmanship and artistry spanning dynasties. “They vary greatly in size, ranging from exquisitely small artworks to large-scale ones, such as the massive Coromandel screen from the Qing Dynasty,” he says. “Simple and understated lacquerware with regular shapes was popular during the Song Dynasty, just like the mainstream aesthetics of porcelain from that era, and the carved lacquerware techniques flourished in the later dynasties of the Yuan and Ming.” A round, carved lacquer box adorned with gardenia patterns bearing the signature of Zhang Cheng, a renowned craftsman of the Yuan Dynasty, is one such elegant artwork from the San Francisco museum’s collection. “It represents the pinnacle of carved lacquer craftsmanship during that era. Works by Zhang Cheng are extremely rare worldwide,” says Yu Peiyao from the Hubei Provincial Museum. Kuancai, which literally means engraved polychrome, is a technique where designs are first carved into the smooth lacquer surface and then filled with colored pigments. Originating in and flourishing during the late Ming and Qing dynasties, it was mainly used to decorate large screens and exported to Europe from the 17th century. To this day, the term “Coromandel” is still used to describe kuancai, as people in the West once mistakenly believed the Indian coast of the same name was the origin of these decorative pieces. “With its elaborate and luxurious aesthetic, kuancai was favored not only by members of the upper class in China but also by European royals and elites. The Europeans valued it because it could partition spaces and be integrated as an exquisite decorative element into their houses,” she says. “This popularity contributed to the chinoiserie trend that emerged during the 17th century in Europe and surged across the continent in the 18th century.” The Hubei Provincial Museum has been committed to the conservation and restoration of excavated lacquerware since the 1970s, as the province is known for its large number of unearthed lacquer objects. In 2005, a key scientific research base for the conservation of unearthed wooden lacquerware was established under the National Cultural Heritage Administration, with the auspices of the provincial museum and Jingzhou Cultural Heritage Conservation Center. The base unveiled its five-year development plan between 2026 and 2030, detailing its tasks of deepening the understanding of lacquerware’s scientific value, improving the disease assessment system, optimizing conservation technologies, and enhancing restoration techniques and materials. 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