Gu gong qi qi te zhan mu lu

Abstract

"The collection of lacquer wares in the National Palace Museum numbers more than five hundred pieces, thus ranking among the world's major museum collections on the basis of numbers alone; the range of shapes and categories in our collection is also very rich. [...] Besides the carved lacquers, this exhibition includes examples of carved marble lacquer, filled-in lacquer, mother-of-pearl inlaid lacquer, flat marbled lacquer, carved and painted polychrome lacquer, gold-etched lacquer, gold-painted lacquer, and painted lacquer; there are also examples of Fukien t'o-t'ai lacquer, a descendant of the Ch'u fabric-core lacquer technique. Each of these types has its own special characteristics and taste, whether due to material or technique. In order to enable the viewer to gain a better understanding of these ten categories, their techniques and development, a brief explanatory note has been included for each"--Director's foreword.