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| "Red-hair" Lacquerware: Makie in the Palaces of the Absolute Monarchs |
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| Styles in lacquer produced for export changed in the seventeenth century with the Japanese government policy that limited trade with this island state to only the Netherlands and China. Cabinets with drop-down panels came to have side-hung doors that opened out, and chests with semi-cylindrical lids were replaced by flat lids. Pictorial designs with large open spaces also came to be prevalent. This new style came to be called Komo shikki ("red-hair" or Dutch lacquerware). The expensive luxury items with designs created by lustrous black lacquer and opulent gold color not only served decorative purposes for the interior but also symbolized wealth and power. |
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Commode with Pavilions in Landscape
Victoria and Albert Museum
©V&A Images/Victoria and Albert Museum, London
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