364 ART INDUSTRY AND RELATED OCCUPATIONS. 



method of lacquering which derives its name from the shark skin 

 (Hai-haut), or the sword sheath (Saya), principally employed in its 

 decoration. Usually the shark skin is firmly pressed, by means of 

 a tailor's flat-iron, on the article to be lacquered, without previous 

 groundwork, but after it has been coated with fresh rice paste. 

 Its uneven surface is then filed down with an iron file, the hollows 

 filled with applications of Sabi (p. 358), and then follow the rubbing 

 with charcoal, coat of R6-iro-urushi, repeated rubbing with mag- 

 nolia charcoal, and finally the polishing with burnt hartshorn and 

 Seshime-urushi three times repeated. The finished product now 

 shows a black ground, sprinkled closely with tiny, white circles. 



In the Ducal Museum at Gotha, there is a small old box in this 

 style of lacquer. Where the circles appear grey or bluish, the 

 shark skin has been previously dyed with indigo. This shade of 

 lacquer, which is generally found on old sword sheaths, is called 

 Ai-dzame (Ai = indigo, and dzame = shark). Since the old swords 

 and their sheaths have gone out of use, Same-no-kawa is but little 

 employed in lacquering.i 



7. Coloured Lacquer obtained by Dusting luith Glistening Pozvder. 



1. Ao-gai-nuri or Ao-gai-togi-dashi, mother-of-pearl lacquer, in 

 making which the coarse or finely pulverized mother-of-pearl from 

 varieties of Trochus and of Haliotus is used. If whole surfaces 

 are to be strewn and evenly adorned, the work is quite analogous 

 to that where metal powder is employed. If, on the contrary, 

 definitely outlined decorations are intended, it is customary to 

 paste stencil patterns of tin-foil on the surface of the groundwork, 

 and giving the open spaces a coating of R6-iro-urushi, to sprinkle 

 them with Ao-gai or mother-of-pearl powder. When dry the 

 patterns are removed, and the whole is coated with a mixture of 

 R6-iro and Se-shime-urushi, and then the strewn mother-of-pearl is 

 carefully rubbed with magnolia charcoal. A second coat of the 

 same lacquer varnish follows, then the second rubbing, and finally 

 polishing. The same course is pursued in the simpler work of 

 strewing the whole surface evenly with mother-of-pearl. The 

 beautiful green and violet iridescence of small mother-of-pearl 

 pieces on the lacquer wares decorated with it depends on its 

 varying position toward the light and the uneven coating of the 

 transparent lacquer varnish. 



2. Shari-nashi-ji, i.e. tin (dust) pear ground. The tin dust (or 

 bronze powder instead) is strewn with a little sieve, evenly or in 



^ The Paris manufacturer, Giraudon, some years since applied for a patent for 

 the employment of the same kind of shark skin which the Chinese and Japanese 

 formerly used in lacquering. At the Universal Exhibition in Antwerp his exhibit 

 contained a magnificent collection of "Articles de luxe en Requin de Chine," such 

 as cabinets, glove-boxes, bowls, etc., all covered with well-polished shark skin, 

 and which were sold at enormously high prices. 



