The heartbeat of Swiss watchmaking
The liquid gold of Japanese lacquerware
The magic threads of French leatherwork
The clay and fire of Chinese porcelain
louisvuitton Artisans create a deep shine using the traditional lacquer polishing technique.
louisvuitton Swipe to harvest golden sap to discover the generations of hand skills behind luxury objects.
louisvuitton The Hundred-Layer Polish
A hundred layers deep, we polish till they shine! (Oh, till they shine!) / This liquid tree sap art is gonna outlast time! (Yeah, outlast time!)
louisvuitton Harvesters scratch the Toxicodendron vernicifluum to collect spoonfuls of gray-white sap containing urushiol, the toxic compound in poison ivy.
What substance in urushi lacquer sap makes it toxic to touch before it fully cures?
Approximately how much sap does a single mature urushi tree produce in its entire lifetime?
Ancient lacquer durability: Urushi lacquer is so durable that 9,000-year-old lacquerware recovered from shipwrecks still retains its original color and shine.
louisvuitton Sprinkling precious metal dust through hollow bamboo tubes creates highly detailed, shimmering patterns.
What tool is traditionally used by maki-e artisans to scatter gold powder onto wet lacquer?
A natural resin obtained from the lacquer tree, used to produce a durable, glossy coating. Japanese craftsmen have harvested this sap since the ancient Jōmon period to preserve and decorate wooden vessels.
What is the name of the traditional wooden cupboard used by Japanese artisans to cure lacquerware?
Under what environmental conditions does Japanese urushi lacquer properly cure and harden?
What material do Japanese lacquer artisans traditionally use to polish cured lacquer layers flat?
How does the appearance of high-quality urushi lacquerware change over decades of use?