>> The following is a
CUNY TV Special Presentation. ♪♪ >> Red is the most popular
color in Chinese culture, representing
happiness and good fortune. Lacquer carving is a unique
art form developed throughout Chinese history. Summer 2017, the Metropolitan
Museum of Art held an exhibition on Cinnabar: Chinese
Art of Carved Lacquer, from the 14th to
the 19th Centuries. These magnificent
pieces draw entirely from the Met collection. They showcase the development
of Chinese lacquer carving – a labor intensive art form that
started during the Song dynasty. >> Lacquer is one of the
earliest manmade materials. It’s almost like a
natural plastic. So people cut the lacquer trees
so there’s a kind of like a juice from the tree came out and
went naturally cooling down when it was applied on the surface of
the vessel. It would be one layer of lacquer to cooling
down maybe several days and they apply another. >> Tinted with cinnabar – red –
and carbon – black – it has been used in China since
the sixth century B.C. Because lacquer can
resist water really well, it is an ideal
material for making eating and
drinking wares. These red and black lacquer
wares were unearthed from a Han tomb 2000 years ago. The plates for food
and a cup for wine, as the writing design indicated. >> In the exhibition is like the
Song and Yuan Dynasty with sort of carved lacquer so this is
multiple dozens of layers of lacquer applied on the surface,
so they carve the lacquer itself, not just the body. >> The core of the carved
lacquer piece is usually made of wood, and the multi-layers of
lacquer are painted on top. After the lacquer was
dry, the carving started. >> The most common material
usually – like I would say 90% - of the whole is wood but
sometimes they would use metal. For example, this piece
actually this uses a copper alloy as core. But the same idea is
they carve the lacquer, not carve the core. Sometimes we will see some later
copies actually just carve the core so they apply a
very thin layer of lacquer. This saves lots of labor. Here we will see around
fifty, sixty pieces, those masterpieces in
our lacquer collection. >> Since lacquer wares
are sensitive to light, the museum rotates the
art objects on display. >> Every time we show some piece
six to ten months and then we have time to rest for
another three to five years. >> Carved lacquer started out
with simple geometric shapes and later moved into
complex forms like painting. >> This big box is
actually one of the best, or typical example of the carved
lacquer of 13th-14th century. Here we can see how
labor intensive it is. If you look closer
– red, black, red, black – that actually
means the layers of lacquer. When we look at those patterns –
we call it ‘guri’ -- the shape is like a cloud. It’s also like a magic fungus. >> Many objects here might be
works created as birthday gifts, bearing the
symbols of long life. The character “Shou” means
“longevity,” as do peaches, cranes and pine trees. The dragon represents the
emperor or the emperor’s power. Because the Chinese emperors
often called themselves “the son of the dragon” so he has
powerful support from heaven. That’s why most objects used by
emperors had dragon decorations. Cinnabar has long been
used by the Chinese as a red color pigment. It has also been used as a
medicine and for longevity. Now we know it is poisonous
to humans in large dosage. In fact, many emperors died
young because they took too much cinnabar for longevity. One of the
highlights is a unique, large, lobed tray
from the 14th century, carved with a delightful
scene showing two women and 33 children. >> Here we see one of the
biggest surviving examples of the 14th century lacquer ware. This is ideal like a
model for Chinese family. They want to have many kids to
continue the family tradition. >> Having many children is
very important for the Chinese. According to Chinese tradition,
everyone’s life is merely a link in a continuous family chain. Having more children means
the family blood line will be carried on for a long time. Chinese scholastic activities
are a popular subject for lacquer carvings. This Ming imperial
shop’s masterpiece achieved painting-like details. >> Ming established lacquer
workshops in the capital city. The depiction a kind of ideal
life of the Chinese literati. So here we see two scholars
sitting together in a garden with an incense stand
with incense burning. They are talking to each other. This is their ideal life,
after their government jobs. >> This brush pot was
carved with a garden scene. An elder scholar is writing in
calligraphy while others watched or helped prepare the ink. Playing music on a Chinese
zither and playing chess are favorite activities
for Chinese scholars. >> We go to the 18th
century during the Qing Dynasty, lots of the lacquer works
were done in imperial workshops in Beijing. Around circle you
will see lots of melon, peach, and the Buddha’s
finger kind of plant. They are all auspicious symbols. The peach symbolizes long life
and the melon was a symbol of having many kids or sons. And of course the Buddhist
fingers have a kind of like religious meaning. >> In traditional
Chinese culture, elderly are well respected. People believe they owe
their life to their parents and ancestors and the oldest man in
house is the most knowledgeable and has the most authority. This screen is the largest
piece in the exhibition. It is done by a famous 19th
century artist named Lu Gui Sheng. It is about the Chinese legend
Guo Ziyi’s birthday party. >> This is generally the
story of the Guo Ziyi, a famous Tang chancellor. He was very successful. >> Guo was a famous Tang
dynasty general who lived 1300 years ago. He served three emperors and was
famous for his military talent as well as his
court political skills. He not only survived
but prospered under the unpredictable emperors. His descendants of five
generations down also married into the royal family
and were successful. So this screen made the perfect
birthday gift for a general who lived in the 19th century,
wishing him the same success as general Guo.
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